Fuel to Fire
by ladykatyhawk
Summary: While Loki sinks deep into his madness, encouraged by the whispers of Thanos and his own memories, the Avengers have to decide what to do next as they learn just how broken he is. None notices the growing shadow closing in on all of the realms. M for violence and torture. No slash. No romance. Plenty of angst and feels.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing, all rights go to Marvel and Disney.

**Fuel to Fire**

oOo

Summary: While Loki sinks deep into his madness, encouraged by the whispers of Thanos and his own memories, the Avengers have to decide what to do next. As the people of Earth and Asgard make demands to secure the chaos god's punishment, none notices the growing shadow closing in on all of the realms.

No pairings. No slash. Angst. Hurt. Torture and selfharm or mentions of it.

AU ending of the Avengers. Possible mentions of Guardians of the Galaxy.

English is not my first language, sorry for any weird grammar errors and typos.

oOo

Chapter 1.

Thor stood silently, watching his brother on the surveillance screen in front of him. Loki hadn't done anything ever since they placed him in his cell – again. He just sat, staring into the nothing in front of him, his eyes blank and bright, his expression neutral. Thor knew that look. How often hadn't he seen it, how often hadn't he misinterpreted it. The insanity of his brother was nothing new, the thunder god had come to realize with great regret. It had been around for many, many years. Fuelled by Odin's and Asdgards favouritism of Thor. The only thing new was the mental break that had released the madness behind those cold, calculating bright green eyes. The calculating eyes of a genius.

The other Avengers and Nick Furry all watched Thor with a somewhat cautious distance. They hadn't voiced any objections when Thor had placed the muzzle on his brother and demanded that he'd been confined in isolation. "_He will face Asgardian justice._" the thunder god had told them.

They hadn't objected. Yet.

"So, care to elaborate?" Tony asked, stretching himself, never taking his eyes of Thor. The god turned, looking at the man behind the iron. "Elaborate what, friend Stark?" Tony waved his hand at the screen showing the god of mischief. "That. Your so called brother."  
>Thor's face grew dark. "Loki is my brother, no matter how little trust is left between us."<br>Tony sat up straight. "See, that! Right there. What the hell happened between you two?"

"What Tony means.." Natasha interrupted, folding her hands in front of her, looking Thor in the eyes ".. why did this happen? You seem to reach your hand to Loki again and again, with Loki biting it off again and again. If you were raised on Asgard, and live for as long as we are beginning to suspect – then why now? Why did he attack Earth?"

Thor looked uncomfortable, as he sat down at the table. The other Avengers and the few shield agents present waited for the god to elaborate.

"It's.. difficult for me to talk about lady Natasha. We live for many thousands of years, and yet it seems as if I've never really known my brother at all." he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

"One year ago, when I was banished to Midgard.."

"You were what?" asked Clint, eyebrow croaked.

Thor blushed faintly, staring at the table in front of him. "Banished. By my father, Odin king. To learn me a lesson, one I was too blind to learn on my own."

"So he banished you to Earth? Why Earth?" asked Steve, looking questioningly at Thor.

"The people of Asgard has a lot of dealings with the other realms, save Midgard. I believe my father, by banishing me here, hoped I would learn values I was unable to learn in any other realm known to us."

The others remained quiet, mostly, for the rest of Thor's story. He explained in brief detail the events on Asgard, of Loki's attempt to destroy Jotunheim. And ultimately of his fall from the Bifrost.

Thor looked back to the screen, to look at his brother.

"We thought him dead. I had no idea a person could survive falling through dimensions and time.." Thor's voice trailed off and he cut himself off. "I should've looked for him. All of this is my fault."

"No Thor. This is Loki." Natasha interrupted, causing the god to look at her. Tony leaned forward, interrupting Natasha. "Point Break, if your father, the all knowing king of the entire universe, thought your crazy ass baby brother dead after that fall, why shouldn't you?" he reasoned.

Thor frowned. "Loki is perhaps a little unstable but.."  
>"Unstable? He willingly let go of your My Little Pony bridge to commit suicide, not to mention he tried to conguer an entire PLANET and you think he's a little unstable? Lord, I need a drink."<p>

"Enough!" Fury barked, shutting Tony up. Thor got up and began pacing back and fourth.

"I should take him to Asgard. To our parents. The Allfather will know what to do.. and the Allmother..." Thor stopped short, his head bowed.  
>"You okay?" asked Bruce cautiously.<p>

"I am well. Forgive me, but for this entire year we all believed Loki to be dead. And now I'm being given the opportunity to bring him home to our mother.."

"She'll know what he's done right?" asked Steve in sudden alarm.

"The Allmother knows all. She is blessed with foresight and will have have awaited my brothers return ever since he was unveiled from whatever magic that kept him hidden from Asgard's sight." Thor gave a weak smile.

"Until we know what we are dealing with, you are not taking your baby brother anywhere." Fury said, his voice cold. Thor turned to him, a challenge in his eyes.

"You want to keep us from our home?" he asked, the warning clear in his voice. The windows trembled slightly, and thunder could be heard in the distance.

"Hell no, I can't wait for you to get out of here. But somebody gave Loki that army, and I wanna know if they are planning any other tricks on Earth." Fury gave Thor a hard look.  
>"You mean well, but your concept of time are a little different from ours. If you go back to Asgard, who knows when you'll be back. I wont risk that."<p>

"So Loki are your hostage until then?"  
>"Prisoner." Fury answered. "And you are our guest. We owe you a debt Thor, don't think we've forgotten about all you've done for us."<p>

Thor looked uncertain, before bowing his head. "Very well. I will remain with Loki until you have to answers you seek."

* * *

><p>Thor stepped into the cell area, with the door closing soundlessly behind him. Loki sat before him, on the floor, back to him. The thick glass wall kept them apart. Loki didn't even acknowledge him as Thor stepped forward.<br>"Brother." Thor said in greeting, not expecting any reaction. He waited a second or so, sighing before continuing. "I have spoken with the Avengers and their leader Director Fury. It was our understanding that I were to return to Asgard with you once you were captured. Those plans, however, have now been altered." Still not getting a reply, Thor continued, his voice sad. "You are to remain here, in the custody of the humans. They want to know what drove you to Midgard and to your actions against them.." At that, Loki turned his head and Thor cut himself off when faced with his younger brothers bright, hateful eyes. He'd forgotten about the muzzle. Thor gave a brief look at the camera, before opening the cell door. Loki was chained to the floor in the center of the cell, with chains crafted by the smiths of Asgard. They would hold his magic and with little room to move, it would be safe enough. Loki looked ahead when Thor approached him. Not getting his attention, Thor kneeled down, gently removing the muzzle from his brothers mouth. But even with the muzzle gone, Loki didn't reply.

"I won't let any harm come to you brother. But you will be punished by father when we return to Asgard. That I cannot hinder. You've tried to conquer a planet under Asgards protection. You've betrayed my trust, and that of mothers. There is little trust between us now, brother, and while I won't do you any harm now, I cannot promise the same thing should you ever attempt something like this again. But, until we are returned to Asgard, I will look after you, as I've always done."

Thor did notice how pale his brother was, and how his dark hair seemed to cling to his face and neck. He looked ill. Thor frowned and reached forward. Before he could reach Loki however the other slapped his hand away. The angry snarl on Loki's face caused Thor to stop.  
>"I don't want your pity, Odinson. I want you out of my sight! I want you dead!" Loki hissed, looking up. His green eyes gleamed in the translucent light.<p>

Thor sighed, and stood up. Loki quickly followed, stepping forward only to be stopped by the chains. Loki looked like he was about to say something, before growling, tucking one time angrily at the bonds keeping him, before turning around.

"Be well brother. I will be back." Thor said soberly, before exiting the cell and closing the door behind him, leaving Loki, alone under the unnatural light.

The only thing to be heard in the cell was his own hollow breathing. Or was it. Loki looked around, feeling the eyes of others on him. Or maybe it was just his imagination.

He laughed, struggling against his bind. The magic chains. Odins handiwork no doubt.

The thought of the Allfather lit the fire in his eyes anew. He pulled the chains. When they didn't bulged, he pulled harder, furiously. _How dared they bind him like an animal! He was a god! _

He struggled with the chains until he could feel the skin of his wrist break, blood smearing the shackles and dripping on the floor. He felt the anger stroke his mind, cloud his thoughts. The hot boiling anger in him seemed to play tricks on his eyes.

He blinked. His blood was blue.

He stopped fighting immediately. Sweat was glistening on his temple, the salt stinging in the cuts around his wrist. He sank to his knees, shaking as he brought the bloodied hands to his eyes.

The blood liquid shined in the electric light. Loki swallowed. He was sure it had been blue.

Loki kneeled silently in the middle of the room. The whispers surrounded him, demanding his attention. Demanding his freedom. He ignored them. Freedom could wait. Freedom was an illusion. He stared blankly at the floor, unmoving. His bright eyes shone with a fever like daze, and he could see his hands shake even though he couldn't feel them. The blood – blue or red, he couldn't tell, continued to drip slowly on the floor. The bulding pressure in his mind though.. that he could feel.

_'You think you know pain'_

He did know pain. He, who had been lied to his entire life. He, who had fell through space and time. He, who had seen and done unspeakable things. He, who had been broken..

'_You know nothing.'_

__He had fallen through the void for months, years. He, who had been king and Prince of Asgard.

'_Yet.'_

He could hear the whispers around him. Or was it his own voice? Did he have a voice? Feel them stroke his cheek and his thoughts, gentle like a lovers touch and terrible like the blade of a knife. Loki listened to them. Welcomed them. He could feel the broken whispers working around his broken mind and heart, forcing the pieces further and further apart. He felt his lips form a smile. Or was he crying?

The voice yelled at him and he flinched, bowing down in submission. Loki remained on his knees, head bowed, for several minutes before the pain from his wrist began to overcome the pressure in his mind. He gave a inaudible sigh of relief. He was alone again.

* * *

><p>"What's he doing?" asked Steve with a frown. They'd all watched the camera feed when Thor went to inform his brother of the change of plans. They overheard Thor's attempt to talk with Loki, the promise of punishment, only to wince when the trickster snarled and attempted to attack Thor.<p>

"Thank God for magic chains from the Heaven." Tony mumbled in relief.

When Thor left they thought Loki would sink back into his submissive state. Therefore, when he continued to fight the chains after Thor had disappeared, the Avengers became unsettle. The continued struggle against his bonds, the hated expression on his face. The audio feed was little more than angry mumbles. They heard the word _animal_ and _god_, both spoken with the same loathing Loki had used when he addressed Thor.

When Thor reentered the council room, he looked troubled. "Is he doing anything?" he asked, walking over and watching the screen from behind Steve's back. The captain looked at the thunder god. "He continued to trash around after you left. Not much else."

They watched in silence as Loki fought his bonds. When the blood started dripping onto the floor, Bruce looked away. Clint eyed Thor. "He's not insane enough to try and cut of his hands, are he?" the archers voice suggested he wouldn't put it pass the asgardian.  
>Thor shook his head. "He need his hands to perform his magic. They are more important than his voice, which is why I felt safe enough to remove the muzzle."<p>

"Guys.." Natasha said, drawing their attention back to the screen. Loki had stopped struggling against his bonds. Instead he was staring at his hands, eyes wide and chock written all over his features.

He sank to his knees, and they could faintly hear his voice. "_Nej_.." he whispered, his voice having a slightly panicked note as he studied his hands in the artificial light. He brought his blood soaked hand to his eyes, his hands shaking violently. The Avengers shared a look. Fury seemed unimpressed by the whole situation, but Thor looked deeply trouble.

"Perhaps I should go to him.." he started, only to cut himself off when Loki snapped his head around, as if trying to locate somebody or something in the cell. But he was alone. The chaos god looked directly in the camera, his eyes glazed and unfocused. He snapped his head back, starring ahead. They could see his lips move, but no sound was heard. Loki remained on his knees, completely still. The blood continued to drip from his injured wrists. He slightly moved his head, as if to distance himself from something.

"_Ég kender smärta.. èg falt gjemmen tid og rum.. du vet intet._" the words were softly spoken, and meant nothing to the Avengers who all looked at Thor who had gone deathly pale.

"What's he saying?" asked Tony.

"He speaks our native tongue.." Thor answered, but didn't elaborate further when Loki suddenly winced and bowed down, his dark hair hiding his face. When several minutes had passed without Loki moving or speaking, the Avengers looked at Thor. The thunder god had begun pacing again, a hand in his hair and worry in his eyes.

"Thor, what did Loki say?" asked Steve, repeating Tony's question. Thor stopped, looking at the still image of his brother.

"He said 'I know pain. I fell though time and space.. You know nothing.'"

Nobody said anything at this revelation. "Sounds like he's completely lost it." Tony supplied when the silence became a little too much. Fury huffed.  
>"As interesting as this is, the nucase have calmed down for the time being, but I am not letting him stay here. Last time he nearly caused this helicarrier to fall out of the sky. He's doing down to earth so he can't manipulated anyone into crashing this thing." Fury looked at the team in front of him.<p>

"Where ever Loki goes, I follow." Thor said, the power returning to his voice.  
>"I expected as much. We don't exactly have any cells that can contain a magical freakshow from another planet so we have to come up with something." Fury looked at Tony. "But I bet you'll want to take up the challenge to build something for him?"<p>

Tony raised an eyebrow. "Ehm, no? I'm getting dinner with these guys and then I'm clocking out."

"No. This isn't done yet Stark." Fury smirked. "It is Thursday - " at this Thor raised a surprised evebrow and looked at the others "and it's between 8-15. I'm consulting you. Now, where should we put a magical terrorist from outer space?"

Tony frowned. "You know, I dislike having my hospitality used against me." he informed the director, before looking at Thor. "Those chains, they will hold him correct?"

Thor nodded. "As long as what they are bound to are strong enough, he won't be able to pull free unless I release him."

Tony clapped his hands, standing up. "Great. I have a spare room – in fact several - you stay in it with him." Tony looked at Fury who wore an unimpressed look. "Satisfied?"

"Not really. You plan on bringing Loki to your own tower?"

"Why not? Granted, he kinda destroyed my living room – I'm sending your father the bill Point Break – but if those chains can keep him in place, I don't see why not. That'll keep him off the streets and out of your hair. Romanoff can swing by and interrogate him whenever she wants. My tower are as secure as it gets. Jarvis can keep an eye on him all the time." Tony smirked. "Bruce's coming to stay with me too. He can green up if we need Loki to remember who's in charge."  
>Bruce shook his head but didn't object.<p>

"Not to mention you get to learn about his asgardian magic and space travel." Clint shot in, giving Tony an unimpressed glare. The billionaire grinned. "Oh yeah. That hadn't crossed my mind. At all."

"What of the Tesseract and the staff?" asked Steve. "They shouldn't be kept under the same roof as Loki."

"Agreed. You can keep those Fury – that should keep your council happy." Tony reasoned.

Thor stepped in. "I will bring both the Tesseract and Loki's sceptre with me when I return to Asgard. They are not of Midgard and are too dangerous to remain here now that the rest of the Universe has it's eye on you."  
>Fury glared at them. "Fine. The sceptre and the Tesseract are under S.H.I.E.L.D.S. control and Thor and the rest of the Avengers, you make sure Loki doesn't leave this planet until we know just what we are dealing with."<p>

Tony clapped his hands. "Excellent! Now, shawarma?"

* * *

><p><strong><em>Updates will be irregular. <em>**

_My first Avengers fic. I am terrified of writing this, most due to the amount characters and because of Loki's complicated personality._

_Nej means no in danish/swedish. The norwegian/icelandic word is nei. Pronounced the same way._

_Yes, I am arrogant enough to pretend that Danish (my native language) are the spoken native language of the asgardians – let's call it Aser (the danish word for æsir). I'm not planning on using it a lot, mainly when Loki or Thor want's to have a private conversation. And, I'll be mixing in a bit of Swedish, Norwegian and Icelandic just for the hell of it – our languages are similar and I'm not arrogant enough to exclude them from our shared history._


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer:  
>I own nothing; all rights go to Marvel and Disney.<p>

oOo

**Fuel to Fire**

oOo

Chapter 2

Tony Stark was a genius. One of the most brilliant minds on the planet Earth. (He used to think/believe he was one of the most brilliant in the universe, but that dream was pretty much out the window thanks to gods and alien armies and what not.) A visionary. A bright beacon for humanity. He made the choices nobody else dared to make. He created what none had dared to before.  
>However, he was prone to spontaneous decisions. Actually, he generally acted before thinking anything through. Normally, Pepper would keep him in check, but she hadn't been aboard the helicarrier when Tony made his newest rash decision.<p>

'_What the hell was I thinking_?' the billionaire pondered as he watched Thor getting Loki ready to leave the ship. He was equally intrigued and disgusted by the alien maniac, but as always the scientific part of his brain had the final say. He internally groaned. God, he needed Pepper to balance that default setting out. He grimaced at the thought of his girlfriend. She had yelled at him for five minutes straight when he – being quite the considerate boyfriend if he should say so himself – had called her to break the news that they were going to play hosts to two alien gods, one of which had only a week earlier tried to take over the planet and tried several times to kill Tony himself. And said alien had all but destroyed his – their - living room (He was so gonna keep that god-sized hole in the floor).

Tony watched as Thor unfastened Loki's chains from the floor and bound them to himself, making it impossible for Reindeer Games to escape without dragging his big brother with him.

The muzzle was back in place, Tony noticed. Loki hadn't said anything since they'd seen him freak out, except cursing at Thor when he muzzled his younger brother again for security reasons. When Loki had learned just where he was going to be kept captive until his return to Asgard, he'd turned absolutely venomous, more resembling a snake than an alien/human/god/whatever. With his arms bound, the god used his words to lash out instead with such creativity that Tony, torn between horror and amusement, had wondered why they didn't just ignored Fury's orders and send the nutjob back to Asgard with the first available space train.  
>Thor's face had remained impassive during his brothers ramblings, and Tony felt a tiny bit of respect and pity for Thor being able to handle that kind of abuse being thrown his way.<br>Sadly, that most likely meant that he was used to it.

Thor straightened his back, giving a careful tug at the chain binding him to Loki.  
>It threw Loki off balance, causing him to stumble forward. Loki glared, but when nothing else happened – and Tony somehow doubted Loki would've permitted Thor to manhandle him like that if he'd been able to escape or use that foul mouth of his – Thor turned to Tony. He nodded. "We are ready to depart, friend Stark."<p>

"Awesome," Tony cheered. "We fly in two teams: you, Natasha and Bruce with Loki. Steve, Clint and I take the Quinjet." Tony winked at the giant blond. "We figured Bruce and Natasha were the best qualified to keep your brother in place, beside you, of course. Clint's still a bit, ah, tipsy?"  
>Thor gave the billionaire a searching look.<p>

"Are you regretting your offer?" the god asked carefully.

Tony shrugged. "Perhaps." he said honestly. "But I also regretted making the suit on several occasions, and so far I've been wrong about that."

Thor looked uncertainly at the human in front of him. Tony sighed, folding his arms in front of him. "Look, big guy. We all have our own personal reasons to hate Loki -" Tony met the eyes of the trickster as he spoke, not backing down from the challenge he saw in there. The humour. The sadistic pleasure of causing chaos and ill ease around him. "- but to be honest, I wouldn't feel good about him being left with S.H.I.E.L.D.. Fury is one thing, but the rest of them? I'm not so sure what they are."

Thor nodded in acknowledgement, thanks in his eyes. "I thank you, my friend. You do me great honour."

Tony waved his hand. "Yeah, yeah. Wait with the thank yous until you've passed Pepper's screening."  
>They started walking towards the main deck, the chains rattling as they moved.<p>

"Will your lady be mad?" Thor asked somewhat cautiously.  
>"Oh, she's beyond pissed. But she'll come around. She tends to get mad when she thinks I'm trying to kill myself. And speaking of dying, we better get going before Fury throws us off."<p>

* * *

><p>The doctor looked nervous, Tony observed when they arrived at the jet.<br>"Don't worry, Bruce! If dearie over there tries anything, just get a teeny, tiny bit mad, perhaps even the green kind, and then you'll see just how compliant he can be." For some reason that didn't seem to calm the doctor down.  
>Thor looked nervous, too. He kept a tight grip on the chain and didn't take his eyes of his brother.<br>Tony smirked. Boy was he glad he got half an hour break from _that_. Even if stick-up Rogers were on board his plane.  
>"See you later, fellas. Try not to crash or hit the news stations, would you?" Tony shut the door before Thor could ask him what he meant. The god looked at Bruce, who gave a small smile and shook his head. "Not important, just Tony being an ass."<p>

Tony, Steve and Clint were the first ones to arrive at Stark Tower – "Guys, is it just me or is the single A starting to look, like, really good?" – and Clint landed the jet with ease on top of the building.  
>Tony exited just as Pepper appeared on the roof, her face a stony mask. Tony started to speak, only to stop when she raised her hand.<p>

"Don't. I'm still mad, and I'll continue to be mad until I let you know otherwise." Tony shut his mouth, biting back his response when Pepper turned her attention to Clint and Captain Capsicle.

She smiled at them both. "Welcome to Stark Tower. I'm Pepper Potts, Tony's girlfriend and in general the person who puts out the fires around here."

Clint and Steve both shook her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Potts. I'm Steve Rogers." Steve introduced himself. Clint merely smiled.

"Please, just Pepper will do." she turned her attention back to Tony. "Still mad." She said when he opened his mouth again. He shut it with a sigh. Clint and Steve shared an amused look.

"The workers left yesterday. The windows have been repaired, and most of the interior damage has been cleaned up. The only thing …" Pepper informed her boyfriend, looking at the papers in her arms.

"You didn't fix the hole in the floor, did you?!" Tony interrupted her, already running for the door.

"No!" Pepper yelled after him, shaking her head. "Honestly." She looked at Steve.

"When will the rest arrive?"

Clint looked at his clock. "A few minutes perhaps."

Pepper sighed. "I'm not happy about this," she informed them, should there be any doubt.

"Neither are we, Ms. Potts. If it were up to me, that lunatic would have already been deported back to his own world," Clint responded quietly. Pepper looked at Steve, who shook his head. She didn't pursue it. Pepper sighed.

"There's no helping it. Once Tony makes up his mind about something, little can be done to change it.."

"PEPPER!" Tony's voice drifted up from the stars. She gave them a brief smile, before following her departed boyfriend, leaving the two Avengers to await the arrival of their prisoner and the rest of the team.

* * *

><p>Tony looked up when Pepper entered the room. He threw out his hands dramatically at the sight in front of him.<p>

"What did I say about the hole in the floor!" he whined, pointing at the bashed up floor. She merely raised an eyebrow, walking up to him.

"It's still there," she informed him.

"But you've cleaned it! Or ..." he looked at her, frozen in unspoken horror. "Did you allow _people_ in here – working people?!"

"What? You expected I would repair the windows and the bullet holes myself, not to mention remove the giant boulders that fell from the ceiling?" she replied dryly. When he merely looked at her, eyes wide in mock hurt, she sighed.

"You're an idiot."

"That's not what we're discussing!" he lamented. He pointed at the floor, to make sure she understood just what she'd done. To his frustration, Pepper looked deeply unimpressed.

"That hole was created, when Hulk smashed Loki. _Repeatedly_. It's one of a kind, and you cleaned it! Now it's just a hole …"

"You said 'leave the hole in the floor', so I left it …"

"... Without any body marks, without any display of just what was slammed down. Now all I have is a hole in my living room floor!"

"Do you even know where you are going with this argument?"

"No, but I feel like shouting for a bit because I've invited a psychotic alien terrorist to come live with us, and I need to be mad about it before Thor gets here!" Tony yelled in frustration, turning around, aiming straight for the bar with hasty steps.  
>Pepper didn't say anything when he poured himself a large whiskey, and drained it in one go. When he poured another, she stepped up beside him.<p>

"Tony. If you regret your decision, just let Fury know. He'll make other arrangements," she said softly

Tony looked at the drink in his hand, swirling it around before sighing. He then raised it to his lips.

"I can't do that to Thor," Tony replied, sipping at the golden liquid. He put the glass down, turning toward his girlfriend.

"You haven't met Loki, Pepper. The guy is shouting abuse at the big guy all the time. I don't think I've ever heard them talk with Loki insulting Thor in three different ways. Not to mention the fact he's bat-shit insane!"

"But why here, Tony? Why our home?" she asked quietly, taking his hand in hers.

"It was a rash decision. Sorry."  
>She didn't reply right away. But she did give him a careful smile.<p>

"It can't be helped, now. We'll make it work. I've had Jarvis prepare the room for Thor. It's not exactly a prison cell, but it's two rooms – one for Thor and one for Loki. There's no window in Loki's room, for security reasons. Thor's room is connected to it with a door. I had the workmen" – at this Tony's eyebrow twitched – "seal off the door to the hallway, so you are only able to reach it by going through Thor's quarters."

Tony kissed her hand, and she smiled wider.

* * *

><p>The two of them remained in the living room until they heard the arrival of the other jet on the roof. A few minutes later the rest of the Avengers walked in, and Pepper got her first look at the villain who'd tried to take over the planet and had destroyed most of downtown Manhattan in the process.<p>

The muzzle surprised her, but then she remembered what Tony had told her a few minutes ago about the venomous tongue of the black-haired Asgardian. Loki himself looked down, never meeting her eyes as he walked beside Thor, but she caught his eyes resting a second on the hole in the middle of the room before quickly averting his gaze back to the ground in front of him. Behind Loki, the archer Clint did, too. He smirked, while Dr. Banner looked embarrassed.

"I thought you'd repaired that." he mumbled, looking at Tony. The genius grinned.

"No way. It's a one-of-a-kind landmark. Until I get a new god-punched-through-floor hole, I'm keeping that one."

Thor stepped forward, dragging his none resisting brother with him. Loki simply followed, no fight left in him it seemed. "Where are our quarters, friend Stark? I wish to unbind Loki from the muzzle." Pepper stepped forward.

"Follow me, Thor. I'll show you to them ..." she said, leading the god and his prisoner down the stairs.

* * *

><p>Pepper escorted Thor to the room she'd had Jarvis prepare for him and Loki.<p>

"I hope it meets your needs, Thor," she said, voice slightly apologetic as she opened the door. She hadn't exactly any experience in creating lodgings for gods. Thor entered the room –his room – and then proceeded to the one that would serve as Loki's cell.

"I was unsure if you wanted a solid door or glass," Pepper said, a little uncertain.

"A solid door is suitable, Lady Pepper. It'll grant my brother some privacy," Thor said, guiding Loki into the room. Thor unchained himself from the shackles binding him to Loki before removing the muzzle. Loki didn't look up while Thor worked with the magic iron. When Thor did finally step back, Loki allowed himself to sink down onto the bed, his eyes still focused on the floor.

"What's wrong with him?" Pepper asked before she could stop herself. Loki looked ill and nothing like the madman she'd seen on TV.  
>Thor didn't answer. He secured the chains to the floor, allowing Loki room to lie down or walk a few meters back and forth, before leading Pepper out, closing the door and locking it.<p>

"I do not know, Lady Pepper," he then said softly.

The two of them returned to the hallway. "Jarvis?" Pepper said.  
>"<em>At your service, Ms. Potts,<em>" the voice of the AI sounded from the ceiling. Thor looked up, surprised.

"Who is speaking?"

"That's Jarvis," Pepper explained. "He's sort of the butler of the tower. It's an artificial intelligence Tony created years ago." From the stack of papers in her hand, she withdrew a tablet, handing it to Thor, who took it curiously.

"Jarvis will be monitoring Loki at all times, making sure he doesn't escape or harm himself. Through this" – Pepper dabbed an icon on the screen, transforming it into a live feed showing Loki still resting unmoving on the bed – "you'll be able to keep an eye on him without sitting by him all the time. It also makes it possible for the others to look out for him should you be indisposed."

Thor looked at the screen and then at Pepper. "I thank you, Lady Pepper. Thank you for your kindness. I know how odd this must feel for you …" Pepper shook her head, smiling at the god.

"You probably saved Tony's life by coming to Earth. This is a part of my repaying that debt to you. Think nothing of it."  
>Thor nodded in respect before heading down the hall, still staring at the tablet in his hands.<p>

"Jarvis, are you still there?"

"_Always._"  
>"Keep an eye on Loki's vital functions, as well. Alert us to any change in his behaviour."<br>"_Will do, Ms. Potts._"

* * *

><p>Loki remained still, even a long time after the human and Thor had left him in his "cell." When he actually did look around, taking in his new surroundings, he was unimpressed. The walls were grey. No window or any source of natural light. Everything that could've be deemed luxury had been removed. The bed remained, as did a small chair and an even smaller room, which, upon inspection, turned out to be the restroom. Equally dull. Though, there was a mirror. Loki frowned, stepping closer and studying his reflection. The too bright, white, human light made his skin shine with a sickly pale colour. His black hair looked dull, as if covered by dust. He stared at himself for a moment, when the uneasy feeling of being watched washed back over him.<br>He removed his jacket, carefully arranging it over the glass surface, hiding his reflection, before exiting the small room again, the chains rattling as he walked. Loki returned quietly to the bed and sank down. With nothing to occupy himself, he had little choice but to rest. Or try. He lied down and closed his eyes, briefly noticing the faint glimmer from an object in the celling, like a star. When he noticed it, the light went out, leaving him in complete and utter darkness. But rest did not come to him.

He was being watched. He could feel the slight brush of a foreign _yet familiar _presence on his thoughts, guiding him to places he did not want to dwell on.

_You cast me into an abyss!_ The feeling of falling. Of betrayal. Hurt._  
>So you take the world I love as recompense for your imagined slights?<em>His fault, always his fault.

Imagined. Did he imagine the Void? Was it even possible to imagine that kind of nothing, the feeling of floating between the layers of the universe? The crushing pressure, the _cold _...  
>Hate boiled up inside him, and Loki sat up, leaning against the wall as his heart pounded in his chest as if it tried to escape.<p>

How long he sat like that he didn't know. Maybe minutes, maybe hours.

He hadn't imagined it – he couldn't have – and yet again Thor is desperate to prove that the fault did not lie with the thunder god but with his wayward younger brother.  
>Loki started to shiver with repressed emotions as small images from his childhood and youth with Thor started passing before his eyes. How innocent, but now he saw. The disapproving stares, the sniggers, the <em>pity<em>. With an angry growl he snapped around, punching his fist into the wall. The wall didn't budge, but it did break his skin, exposing the white bone beneath. Again and again he punched the wall, not even noticing the pain as the bones in his hand gave away and blood smeared the grey wall, his tears, the laughter or the panicked shout as the door was forced open. All he saw was a black nothingness, pulling him down, while millions of hands reached out for him, tearing him apart and putting him back together. In the void, silence was everywhere. Except the laughter. The bone chilling laughter that made him realize he should've killed himself when he'd had the chance. Again and again Loki punched the wall, trying to hide the laughter behind the pain. He screamed in anger when strong arms was wrapped around his chest, pulling him away from the wall. He tried to force himself free, but his destroyed hand couldn't even move and all he did was to cover his assailant's arms in blood and pieces of bone. The pressure in his mind rose to agonizing heights. He stopped fighting and he knew no more as the Void claimed him.

* * *

><p><em>Thank you so much for the overwhelming feedback; it's very much appreciated! I hadn't thought I would write another chapter too soon, but your lovely reviews motivated me. Thank you! I guess that means chapters are still irregular – but in a good way. Just don't get used to it.<br>As for the story, I'm still plotting it out. I'm not thinking far ahead, as these things tend to evolve all on their own in my experience._

_Also, the story now has a beta! The kind and lovely W__esternfemme has offered to check each chapter for my weird grammar mistakes. She's a star, and if you feel like it, you should PM her and tell her so :)_


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer:  
>I own nothing, all rights go to Marvel and Disney.<p>

oOo

**Fuel to Fire**

oOo

Chapter 3

_Earlier that evening_

"What, exactly, is the Void?"

It was getting late. Hours had passed since Thor had locked Loki in his cell, and he and Pepper had returned to the others. They all sat in Tony's living room, eating, drinking and talking. The atmosphere was relaxed. Thor felt comfortable, despite the situation. It almost felt like back at Asgard, when they'd returned from a battle or a hunt. Telling stories. Reminiscing.

Thor looked at Natasha, who'd voiced the question. She sat between lady Pepper and Barton, her face curious. Thor thought for a moment before he explained.  
>"The Void is a gash between the worlds, in the layers of the universe. It is a place of nothing, only pressure and utter darkness. The Void is always around us, hidden behind the walls of reality. There exists only few devices throughout the universe that possesses the power to rip reality apart. But they are few and well guarded."<p>

Natasha nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer.  
>"You rainbow bridge is one of those artifacts, correct?" asked Bruce, setting down his coffee cup.<br>Thor nodded in agreement. "The Bifrost is many thousands years old. It was created before the time of my grandfather, King Bor. It is the strongest of the space and time artifacts, thus why it is located on Asgard."

Tony snorted. "Yeah, too bad you aren't picky with how you allow to use it."

Thor glared at him. "The Bifrost is no toy, and no asgardian treats it as such!"

"You just explained to us ten minutes ago how Loki used it to try and destroy that cold-Joyo-town-what-ever-name!"

"Jötunheimr." Thor repeated with an amused chuckle. "And Loki was well in his right to use it, although for terrible reasons. He was king, and as king of Asgard he commanded the Universe, for however a short period of time."  
>Tony spit out his scotch and Clint dropped his beer. "Did you just say that Loki was king of Asgard?"<p>

Thor nodded again, a air of sadness around him. "While I was banished, and the Allfather was under the Odinsleep, my mother made Loki king. It was his birthright to take the throne."

"I thought you said he was adopted?"

"He is. Loki is a jotun, taken in by my parents millennia ago. But that makes no difference. He is a son of Odin and Frigga, and will always be even how much he denies it." Thor explained sadly.

"His title does not protect him from his actions here, just as mine doesn't excuse my faults. While I do not know what the Allfather will do to punish him, rest assured that Loki will face judgement once we return to Asgard."

"Do make sure." Clint remarked dryly.

"I have recordings of everything, in case you need it." Tony informed. Thor gave the man of iron a nod of thanks. "I appreciate your offer, but the Allfather already knows of everything that has transpired here on Midgard. That's how he was able to send me here, to stop Loki's schemes. Not only would the all seeing eyes of the Allmother have told him, I've also seen Hugin and Munin several times already. They've reported everything. There is no lack of evidence for Loki's evil deeds."

"Who's Hugin and Munin? Do you have alien spies on Earth?" asked Pepper interested.

"They are the Allfathers eyes in all of the realms. They are Thought and Memory, and reports back to my father of all that is happening throughout the universe. They have the shape of two large, black ravens." Thor explained.

"Hold up dude." said Clint, raising a hand. "Are you telling us, that ravens exists in every world in the universe? How is that even possible, biologically?"  
>Thor raised an amused eyebrow. "Why, the ravens, just as cats and goats, are of asgardian origins. In the early times of the universe, they were brought to the other worlds by asgardian travellers and warriors." The others stared at Thor with a blank, disbelieving expression. The god snorted at their confusion.<p>

"Cat's are aliens?" Pepper asked slowly, while Tony muttered "Knew it."

"I wouldn't say that. The cat's of Earth have been here for such a long time, that they are true Earthlings. The cats of Asgard are much bigger, big enough for a man to ride or to pull a carriage."

"So, you don't have dogs?" asked Bruce. Thor shook his head. "No, but we do have wolves. They are very dangerous and are in general left alone. Odin has two wolves, who scouts Asgard for him . They are Geri and Freki. In older times, when Asgard were at war, they would accompany my Father on the battlefield. It's been millennia since they have left Asgard."

The humans all shared a look, as if to make sure Thor wasn't pulling one on them. Thor returned to his coffee, oblivious to the confusion of those around him.

"Space cats." Clint shook his head. "This is a load of.."

"Clint!" Natasha interrupted him. The archer shrugged, not looking overly concerned.

"Just a word of advice, Thor – don't go around telling humans that cat's and goats are asgardian animals. Somehow I don't think it will be very well received." Bruce said to the god, who nodded.

"I am aware that your planet hasn't had many dealings with other worlds. I can assure you, this is common knowledge in most of the known universe."

"And now he's calling us ignorant! That's it, I need a refill! Tony got up, reaching for the scotch bottle on the table.

"_Sir, if I may interrupt?"  
><em>

"Not now Jarvis, I already told – no monitoring my booze intake when I'm in company!" Tony informed the AI as he started pouring himself a drink.

_"I am very sure you know your limits sir, but that isn't why I'm interrupting."  
><em>

"Oh? Fury on the line? Tell him to butt off, there's two weeks until next consultation."

_"It's about your prisoner. Ms. Potts asked me to alarm her should there be any changes in his condition." _

At this, all of the Avengers got up, while Thor grabbed the seemingly forgotten tablet. The screen was black.

"Where's the moving image!" the god exploded, staring at the celling as if to locate the unseen voice.

"_The light is out, mr. Odinson and I can't seem to get them back on. I do advise you to go to the room immediately. Your brother seems to be most disstressed._" Thor was already running out of the room, the Avengers hot on his heels.

"I knew this was a bad idea!" Clint yelled from the rear, as they ran for the room, expecting anything.

"Not the right time, cupid!" Tony shot back, as Thor threw open the door – ripping it off in the process - to the room appointed to him by Pepper, heading straight for the door to Loki's cell. He could faintly hear the screams from the other side, mixed with a maniacal laughter that chilled him to his core. Thor grabbed the doorknob, but was stopped by Tony. Thor shot him a furious stare. "Do NOT keep me from my brother friend Stark!"

"Easy!" Tony bit back "Jarvis, what the status? What are we dealing with?"

"_The prisoner appears to have some sort of breakdown. His heart rate are alarmingly high and it appears that he is trying to punch his way through the Stark reinforced concrete."  
><em>

Tony made a face. "That can't be good." he said gravely, and let go of Thor's arm. The others stood back, armed and ready when Thor threw open the door and the light from the room illuminated the cell.

The sight made some of them gag, Pepper turned her back, covering her ears. Blood was splattered across the wall. Loki had his back to them. He was screaming while he continued to punch the wall in front of him_. _A sick, dull sound could be when his fist slammed into the wall, again and again, creating cracks and dents, blood splashing with every hit. Loki didn't turn when the door opened, he appeared not to have noticed Thor or the others. Thor quickly entered the room, putting his arms around his brother, trying to make him stop.

"Loki, cease this madness!" he pleaded desperately. But Loki was beyond words, beyond hearing. Thor was sure his brother could not hear anything he said. He was mad, beyond reason. He hissed and screamed like an animal. He tried to pull back, but instead Loki started fighting him. Still screaming. Loki bit his arm, tried to pull free only to smear his blood across Thors arms when his destroyed hand failed to get any grip on his captors arm.

Thor could with a sick feeling in his stomach feel the splinters of crushed bone scrape against his skin. He pulled Loki back, towards the light. Loki threw back his head, staring at Thor for a second. His face was distorted in pain and rage, but for a second he looked at Thor. Then a look of horror washed over his face, and his eyes rolled back into his head. Thor nearly stumbled when the fighting suddenly stopped. The others gave the god room as he gently put the now unconscious Loki down on the floor.

"Holy hell." breathed Clint. Loki's hand was all but destroyed. His fingers were distorted into an unrecognisable state. It was just a bloody thing at the end of his arm. Blood had splattered all across his face, and sweat ran down his forehead. His eyes were open, but unseeing. His face was locked in the terrified expression, as if he was seeing horrors beyond Earth. Gently, Thor lifted the damaged hand to inspect the damage. The fingers were broken, the bones fractured. Blood was everywhere.

"Brother, what have you done!"

* * *

><p>They transferred Loki to another room. Bruce wanted to amputate the hand, saying it was damaged beyond repair. Thor refused to let him. So instead all they could were to stabilize the god until he woke up.<br>Thor sat beside Loki at all time, never leaving - "This is my fault. I should never have left him!".  
>The others didn't argue with the thunder God, recognising a lost cause when they saw one. Instead they attempted to get some clues from the destroyed cell - "Why does the guy HAVE to leave holes everywhere in my goddamn tower! It destroys the integrity of the Hulk Smash hole!" - but not getting far. Jarvis had nothing but the audio recording, saying something blocked his cameras. So while Tony disappeared into the workshop to give the AI an update, Clint and Natasha went back to the room.<p>

When Loki woke, he refused to talk. He only stared at the wall, wincing in pain when he accidentally moved his destroyed hand.  
>"The doctor can not heal it, Loki." Thor informed his brother after an hour of an erie silence. "You'll have to go to Asgard. Mother can heal it."<p>

"Why is it even broken?"

Thor blinked at the unexpected question. Loki stared at him, anger in his eyes. "Who broke my hand?"

"What do you mean brother?" asked Thor, throughly confused. "You broke it yourself. Against the wall of your cell. You smashed it against the rock until your fingers were all but destroyed. You were screaming."  
>Loki gave him a blank look that would've been comical hadn't the situation been so serious.<p>

"Don't be obscene you idiot. I need my hands, why would I break it?!" he sneered, attempting to sit up. Thor didn't move. After trying and failing to raise himself, Loki let himself fall back onto the bed, his green eyes narrow in frustration. "Unbind me." he said, his voice demanding.  
>Thor raised a eyebrow. "From your chains? I think not, brother. You are not allowed to use you magic."<p>

"I'm not allowed to leave this forsaken excuse of a realm and go to Asgard where somebody _maybe_ would be able to heal my hand. I can mend it myself, just remove the chains."

Thor gave Loki a thoughtful look. "I will talk with the other Avengers first, Loki. You being chained and your magic restricted is a part of the deal, and I can't just ignore that. You put yourself in this, you'll have to stomach the pain until we have come up with a solution." Thor looked at the celling.

"Voice, will you ask the others of the Team to meet up in my brothers chambers?"

"_Certainly mr. Odinson." _Jarvis replied smoothly.  
>Loki bristled when Thor directed his attention back to him. "Why are you calling them? They are the reason my hand is destroyed in the first place!" he bit out hatefully.<br>Thor didn't reply, but he eyed his brother worriedly.

This was the second time Loki recalled an event differently from what actually had happened.

'_He believes I threw him from the Bifrost, and he believes the avengers destroyed his hand when in fact both events was of his own accord.' _

Thor didn't know what to make of this. His brother had always had a sharp brain and memory, and yet here now he couldn't recall these incidents. Or, he could, but in a much different way.

'_I did not throw you off the Bifrost brother. You let go._'

But why did Loki remember it differently? What had truly happened in the Void? How much time had Loki spent in the layers between the universe?  
>Thor didn't know much about the Void. He was familiar with the concept behind it, but he knew that time and space could be twisted between the layers. The year on Asgard could very well have been much longer in the Void. Or shorter.<p>

"_The Avengers have assembled, mr Odinson._" Jarvis' voice sounded, interrupting Thors chain of thought. He stood up. "I'll be back soon with a answer brother." he informed Loki. He ignored Thor.  
>Thor exited the room, closing the door and turning to his friends. They had agreed that they should all keep their distance from Loki. Tony had all but ordered Pepper from the tower, not wanting her any near the psychotic god. When she refused, only an hour later a lawyer from Stark Industries had called her, something about an insanely amount of money being transferred between accounts. Pepper, eying the innocent looking Tony suspiciously, had left to deal with the problem.<p>

"He's awake?" asked Clint, staring at the door suspiciously as if he expected it would burst into flames.

Thor nodded. "My brother has regained consciousness, and I have had words with him."  
>Thor hesitated. "He wishes for the chains to be removed, claiming he can heal his hands with his magic."<br>Protests sounded even before Thor had finished speaking. "Listen to me!" he said, his voice booming, cutting them all off effectively.

"He will loose the hand if not. You said so yourself, your technology cannot mend that kind of damage. I will not allow that to happen. Your director Fury do not wish for us to leave Midgard so we don't have any choice. But I wished to inform you of this, rather than going behind your back."  
>Steve nodded, his expression grave. "It makes sense. But can you keep him in check with the chains off?"<br>Thor nodded. "I believe so. He is weak. And without both his hands functioning, he won't be able to use any of his more harmful magics. It should be save enough."

"Then we should let him do it. But the chains are going back as soon as his hand isn't beyond help. Bruce can look at it then, can't you?" the Captain looked at Bruce, who nodded.

Tony cleared his throat. "Well, great. Now that we've decided to remove the only thing keeping your little brother from killing everyone of us - any ideas why he decided to all crazy on my wall?"  
>Thor shook his head sadly. "No. It is something I do not understand. When I asked him about it, he claimed to have no memory of it. In fact, as far as he's concerned, the damage to his hand was caused by you."<p>

"_What?!_" Clint and Tony yelled, while Natasha, Bruce and Steve shared a surprised look.

"How is that possible Thor?" Steve asked.

"I don't know. It is something I do not understand. Loki seems to have trouble recalling certain events. Or, he do recall them, only differently - wrongly. He's convinced that _you_ destroyed his hand. He's convinced _I _threw him from the Bifrost."

"He's crazy, that's what's wrong with him!"

"Clint." Steve said, before turning to Bruce. "Doctor, you have any idea what this is?"  
>Bruce rubbed his neck, unsure. "I'm not educated or anything. But he shows signs of traumatic stress. It could explain the altered memories." he then said, looking at Thor. "You explained the Void to us, but do you truly know what could've happened to Loki while he was in there?"<br>"How could I? Nobody has ever survived to tell the tale."

"Well." said Natasha, stepping forward. "Then how about, we ask him?"

* * *

><p><em>Another day, another chapter. You guys are the best. The more reviews and faves, the more inspired I feel to write the next chapter. So, if you want chapters, review :)<br>My beta hasn't responded to my email, so after waiting a few days I decided just to publish the chapter – I don't like keeping you waiting! It'll probably be beta'd later, so do read again :)_

_I played around with the idea that asgardians brought animals with them when they traveled the universe. In Thor I, when Thor demands that he is given a dog or cat large enough to ride, I thought 'hey, maybe the cat's he's used to (Freyas) are infact large enough to ride?. The same with Hugin and Munin, I like the idea that there are several 'versions' of the two throughout the universe, reporting back to Odin.)_

_In other news, I got fired from work last week due to financial problems in the company. It sucks big time. I really liked my job, and my coworkers. But, it can't be helped. I'll continue working there the next four months, with full pay and hopefully I'll find another job soon. Should be possible, my former boss – who've also been fired for the same reason – have written me a kick ass letter of recommendation. _

_I find solace in my writing now. It's a shook, getting fired. But, as my mother told me when I was crying on her shoulder: "You'll manage. You're not sick. You're not hurt. This is but a minor bump, and you are strong." _

_My mother is wise._


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer:  
>I own nothing, all rights go to Marvel and Disney.<p>

oOo

**Fuel to Fire**

oOo

Chapter 4

Loki remained still when Thor left to discuss the proposition with the mortals. He made sure to keep his arm and the remains of his hand absolutely still above the bed.  
>The pain from his hand was terrible, despite the large amounts of the mortals medicine he knew to be pulsing through his body. He could feel the drugs fog his thoughts, making it hard to think.<br>Loki waved his head slowly from side to side, trying to remove the whiteness from his vision. All it did was to make him nauseous instead. He opened his eyes with a groan of frustration.  
>The room he was in know didn't have a window either, making it impossible for him to determine just for how long he'd been out. Thor had been wearing the same clothes, so it couldn't have been long. But, for all he knew, the oaf could have forgotten to change all together, once again to come to the <em>aid <em>of his once-brother.  
>Loki pushed away the thought. It wasn't important, Thor wasn't important. What was important however, was why the avengers had attacked him. He had a faint memory of being angry. And the feeling of being hit over and <em>over<em> and _over_ again. He closed his eyes, taking a deep, shaking breath.  
>His unharmed hand was cold, very cold. In fact, he felt cold all over. His throat felt tight, and he gasped for air. By doing so his abused hand moved in the process, causing him to bend forward, hissing as hot, strong shots of pain soared through his body, his nerves screaming with agony.<p>

There wasn't any anger in him now, the pain subdued the emotion. Through the pained haze he briefly wondered how painful it would be if he wasn't full of the mortals ancient remedies. He felt his mouth twist into something that could've been a smile, humour finding it's way through the pain.

_'How ironic, mere mortals keeping my pain at bay.'_

He remained still, hunched forward, cradling his broken arm to his chest. The grotesque smile faded away as he opened his eyes again. Not moving at all, he simply stared ahead. How little he liked it, his fate right now depended on Thor's abilities to convince the earths saviours to allow the chains to be removed. That didn't bring him any comfort. Thor was all muscle and no smarts. The only thing to be heard in the empty room was his own, faint breath. It echoed around him, pulsing of the walls. And he was so cold, his arms was shaking, the pain gone. The lights flickered. He could see his breath in front of him, like small clouds. He could hear his thoughts speak around him. Praising him. _Taunting_ _him_. The room was dark, or was it even a room? Stars and moons and worlds flashed by him, and he shut his eyes, forcing them out. _You threw me into an abyss!_ And how he'd fallen..

Loki's eyes snapped open at the sound of the door. The stars had disappeared, the room was bright. He wasn't cold.

"Are you well Loki?" Thor asked, walking through the door, followed by the doctor and the soldier. The others were nowhere in sight.

Loki shot him a look. "Marvellous." he drawled, keeping his voice steady.  
>They didn't show it, but both Bruce and Steve was disturbed by the sight of Loki. The dark hair clung to his face. His skin was ghostly white, and slight tremors shook his body. His lips were almost invisible, and his eyes dark and sunken.<p>

Thor ignored the jab from his brother, and stood beside him. "We have reached the decision, that because you aren't allowed to leave and doctor Banner can't heal your hand, the chains will be removed so you can use your own magic. But only to bring it back from beyond help. Then doctor Banner will see to it and help you heal." Thor explained.  
>Loki moved his gaze to the monster, disguised as a man. The man calmly met his eyes.<p>

"Why not let me heal it myself?" Loki asked, looking back at Thor. "It would save you the trouble of aiding your prisoner."

"You need you hand to perform your tricks." said Steve matter-of-factly. "Doctor Banner can heal your broken fingers and we make sure you don't use the chance to blow up the building."

Loki bit out a humourless laugh.

"This is truly a jest. You destroy my hand, and place yourself in this situation and yet you act as if I mean to trick you." Loki bowed his head, and thus didn't see the look briefly shared between Thor and the two avengers. Loki looked up again, all traces of humour gone from his blank, taunting stare. "So be it." he lifted his arms, pain flickering across his face in the process. The chains shined in the dull light.  
>With Steve's nod of approval, Thor stepped forward. He gently removed the chains from first Loki's damaged arm (he pretended not to hear his brother's hiss of pain as he did). The other chain followed swiftly.<br>Loki breathed hard, his vision swimming from the pain and the relief of feeling his magic pick slightly at his fingertips.

"No tricks, Loki." Thor reminded, standing besides him. Loki smirked.

"So little trust in me?" he whispered, his lips dry and broken.  
>Thor's eyes grew dark. "I don't trust you at all, brother."<p>

"Good." said Loki and closed his eyes in concentration. He didn't elaborate, but instead he enjoyed the sensation of power rushing through his blood. The words, old and forgotten, came easily to him as he placed his unharmed hand above the damaged. He breathed slowly, before letting the magic flow. He grimaced in pain when the tissue and veins started pulling itself together. Pieces of crushed bone fell from the hand as new bone took it's place. Flesh and bone traded place, and blood flowed freely onto the makeshift bed he was occupying.

Bruce and Steve couldn't help but feeling a shot of admiration as they watched Loki's hand regain it's form in front of their very eyes. They didn't dare speak. Thor looked worried by the pain written clearly in Loki's features as he continued to work his magic.  
>It went on for nearly half an hour. When Loki's once completely destroyed hand regained most of it's old shape, Thor stepped forward, effectively slamming the chains onto Loki's slim wrists again, shutting off his magic once again.<br>Loki opened his eyes. He looked exhausted, and irritated when his eyes found Thor's.

"That's enough Loki. Doctor Banner will treat you from now." Thor said, his voice full of authority.

"It would've taken me but a moment to fix the bones, you moron." Loki pointed out, ice in his voice.

"That wasn't the deal." Steve reminded the god firmly. He looked at the doctor. "Doctor Banner, if you would.."

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, in the other side of the tower, Clint and Natasha had been listening to Jarvis' recording from Loki's cell for hours, searching for clues to why he'd freaked out and hurt himself.<p>

"Can you even tell what he's screaming?" asked Clint when Natasha once again paused the recording, making notes.

She shook her head, her red hair dancing about her head as she restarted to the recording. "No. It's barely even words. I asked Thor if they were asgardian but he claimed they held no meaning to him." She ended her note. "But, it bothers me. He's not just screaming. His voice pattern changed several times, as if the source of his terror changed character. He went from pain, to panic, to fear, multiple times. You saw the look on his face when Thor pulled him out." Natasha gave Clint a look. "And we both know that look."

Clint nodded, his expression dark. He held no love for the alien prince, that was no secret. But still.. he'd seen Loki do terrible things. He'd seen Loki face off against all of the Avengers, against Earth itself, laughing all the way. It made him _very _uncomfortable to think of what could have spooked Loki beyond pain and thought.

Clint cleared his throat. "Any idea what caused Jarvis' cameras to malfunction?"  
>Natasha stared at the black screen. "No. Maybe we'll learn something when Tony has finished with the repairs." She looked at Clint. "But I think you suspects the same thing as I do."<br>Clint nodded. "Why had Loki covered the mirror with his jacket? I'm pretty sure Asgardians don't have one-way mirrors."

"He behaved as if he thought he was being watched. Which he was, but he apparently didn't consider Jarvis a threat. We saw him look directly at the camera, but he didn't do anything to cover that. So, the question is – who was he hiding from, if not us?"

* * *

><p>Natasha looked calmly at Loki. He sat in front of her, his arms chained to the floor in front of him, courtesy of Thor. She sat opposite Loki, with nothing between them.<p>

They were the only ones in the windowless room. She had her arms crossed, her face completely neutral. Natasha Romanoff was a professional, one of the best interrogators in the world and this was her mount Everest. Interrogating the master of lies, a god of dishonesty. She didn't know if she would be able to extract any information from Loki this time. He knew her ways now, her techniques and - and that was the thing that worried her most- he knew her. They sat in complete silence, neither one speaking. She made a mental note of that; Loki loved listening to his own voice.

She tilted her head. "Why did you break your hand?" she asked.  
>No answer, no reaction. Loki merely looked at the floor in front of her, his bandaged hand resting in his thigh.<p>

Natasha kept her equally blank, not letting his silence face her resolve.

"It's quite impressive, you being able to heal a injury such as that. It would've been beyond saving had it happened to a human."

There. A tiny flicker in his eyes. Humour. Arrogance.

"But then again, you are quite old. Thor is too, as far as I gather. You live for thousands of years, and you have magic. Quite an advantaged as far as controlling the entire universe." The flicker disappeared, the blankness returning. She leaned a little closer.

"You've seen the Universe, haven't you? Thor explained what the Void is, and how you ended up in it.."

"When has anything Thor said actually been correct?" the voice was so soft she for a second thought that she'd imagined the words. But Loki's gaze shifted to hers. His eyes like a mirror, she could see herself clearly reflected on the haunted surface. She kept her posture, but allowed a tiny amount of shock to grace her features. Loki liked drama, and she would give it to him.

"When has anything the golden prince of Asgard said actually been proven to be right?" Loki hissed, his voice low and dangerous.  
>Natasha blinked, slowly. "He is just as old as you are. Surely you've been taught the same things?"<br>Then Loki laughed. Truly laughed, with mirth. The laughter turned into a mocking sneer, a growl of anger.

"Have you looked at us?" he whispered, his eyes shinning in the light. "Do we truly look like somebody who've received the same upbringing?"  
>He fell silent again, staring at a point behind her head. She quickly picked up.<p>

"So, you know more? You've seen it? Felt it?"

"Felt it, little human?" Loki asked, his voice silky as he tilted his head to look up at her. His features twisted, madness seemed to leak from his eyes. She kept eye contact with him, keeping her gaze steady, her face slipping back into it's neutral state. '_He knows my game.' _she reminded herself._  
><em>He knew her tactics, her play on emotions. Which was why she played different this time.

"You and your indifferent _human_ capacity of understanding _anything_ wouldn't been able to even comprehend what the Void is! What it feels like.." Loki raised his hand, shaking slightly. His dark hair spilled around his shoulders, his lips forming words before interrupting himself. He smirked, a sick grimace. "Imagine lying on the bottom of your deepest ocean. Imagine all that water above you.. The incredible weight. The darkness. The silence. The _monsters_." he whispered the last part, and she felt her eyes widen slightly. She watched him bringing his hands closer together, as he watched her intently. "Imagine the weight off _everything_, on you. The feeling of being crushed from both inside and out. Suffocation. Feeling immense hunger and thirst. The absence of light, gone for so long you've forgotten how to see. Forgotten the very taste of air..." he stopped as his hands reached, and he lowered them again, still staring at her.

"Can you imagine that, human?"

Natasha watched him, trying to picture the scene described. She could, but she knew what her imagination could create wasn't even close to what he had described.

"I can't." she then answered.

Loki jumped out of the chair, storming towards her, only to be stopped by the chains.

"OF COURSE YOUR CAN'T!" he screamed, his face mere centimetres from hers. Natasha didn't move, she merely looked him calmly in the eyes as she felt his breath on her skin. The chains that had kept him at bay rattled as Loki stumbled a step back, his breath ragged and his eyes full of rage. "I know you couldn't." he stated, his voice normal, and soft again. He smiled, a smile that made her stomach freeze just a tiny bit. "Because I know your fear of death. And believe me, if you ever enter the Void – you will die. Instantly." he sat down, looking at her.

"You are good at this game, for a human."

"You think this is a game?" Natasha asked, ignoring the bribe of getting Clint involved in the conversation.  
>He licked his dry lips, leaning backwards. "Of course it's a game." his voice had picked up the familiar arrogant tone. She waited for him to continue but he didn't elaborate.<p>

"Is it normal for people to die when you play games?" Loki shrugged at her question.

"Not uncommon." he raised his gaze from the floor. "My hands are dripping red, much like yours.." and, he added almost like a afterthought ".. and Thor's."  
>She didn't let anything show when he spoke, but her mind made mental notes of every expression, every chosen word. She knew there was a meaning behind every little detail he offered her. The way his eyes grew darker when he said his brothers name, the slight shake of his voice at the mention of blood. She knew he learned just as much from her as she did from him. But her advantage was that she wasn't mentally unstable.<p>

"You said there was monsters in the Void." she pressed. That was new information. Thor hadn't mentioned the possibility of creatures actually living in the Void, and as the god had been pretty eager to explain everything else it seemed as if there was new information to be gathered about the place where Loki had fallen.

"Monsters.." Loki repeated the word, playing with it, tasting it, breathing it. "In the Void there's only what you bring with you. Nothing else."

"You said there were monsters. Why would you say that?"

"Haven't you been paying attention, little human? I lie. I am a liar. I say what I want, when I want. I chose what words I want for you to hear. I chose what you mean, what you think and what you feel." he sneered, but she noticed the flicker had returned to his eyes again. A faint glow, blue, only visible for a second and then it was gone. She nodded, not showing any emotion as she stood up. She wouldn't get anything else from him. The anger had returned, the madness seemed to pool around him in the way he held himself, the way he breathed, the way his hand shook. It was time to leave.

"Thank you for your cooperation."

* * *

><p><em>At little earlier, in the living room.<em>

"I don't like she's alone with him." Bruce murmured, as they all watched Black Widow interrogate Loki through Jarvis' feed.

"Don't let her hear you say that, she'll whip your butt." Clint informed dryly, earning a chuckle from Tony and Thor.

"She is the best qualified." Steve said, observing the interrogation with a serious expression.

"I get that." Bruce said, looking tiredly at the screen. "It's just.."

"The smell of crazy?" asked Tony innocently, and Bruce gave him _the _look.

"No harm will come to lady Natasha. Loki cannot break the chains, and Starks construction have proven itself strong enough to somewhat withstand my brothers natural strength. Should he attempt to harm her, his binds would slow him down long enough for us to give aid, should she need it." Thor informed.

They all watched as Natasha managed to get through Loki's facade, to get him to talk. They all jumped up, ready to storm out, when Loki looked like he would attack her. Natasha's facade never fell, her emotions never showing except those she allowed in order to manipulate her prey. Clint knew how she worked, and he knew that she learned even more from Loki's eyes and body language than what the rest of them learned from Loki's words alone.

"_Monsters.._" the word was softly spoken, but it caused Thor to tense up. His expression grave, he didn't even notice the other Avengers stare at him.  
>When Natasha finished and left the room, Thor stood up to go to his brother. Natasha appeared in the living room a few moments later. The others looked at her expectantly.<p>

"What did you learn?" asked Clint. Natasha looked at her colleague, her eyes worried.

"That there's something out there, and it's using Loki."

* * *

><p><em>Thank you so much for your reviews, your faves and follows! It makes me really happy that you like the story! FIY, chapter 3 has now been beta'd!<br>_

_So sorry I disappeared on you guys. I kinda lost my way during December,because of the whole situation at work. Which is rather stupid when I look back at it, because on Christmas Eve's Day I got a call from my boss, telling me he wanted to withdraw my resignation. I asked for time to think about it, but I think I'll accept and then look for a new job in peace and with the financial security. So, everything seems to be in order once again. Kinda pissed they couldn't think of that in the beginning, before sending me through lots of hysterics and panic. _

_I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas (jul in danish)! I got wonderful presents and really enjoyed spending time with my family. Now I'm ready for 2015, and I can feel that this year is going to be special in all kinds of ways._

_In the Nordics we celebrate christmas on the evening of the 24th. We celebrate Christmas Eve (juleaften, the word jul from the old norse word jól which was the viking midwinter celebration) rather than Christmas morning (which really isn't a thing here).._

_The reason we celebrate in the evening instead of the morning like many other countries, are in fact because of our viking heritage. In the Viking Age, the calender they followed (the norrøn calender, or Norse calender) stated that a new day would begin at sundown._


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer:  
>I own nothing, all rights go to Marvel and Disney.<p>

oOo

**Fuel to Fire**

oOo

Chapter 5

Thor didn't speak as he led Loki from the interrogation room to his own a few levels up. The blood had been cleaned out from Loki's chamber, but the idea of leaving Loki without a guard didn't suit Thor well. He was very sure they hadn't seen the worst of Loki yet, and until Thor was certain Loki wouldn't harm himself, Thor would not leave him alone or out of his sight.

Natasha had kept Loki for over an hour. It was getting late, the sun had set hours ago and the tower was calm and pleasant. Thor and the Avengers had all eaten earlier but Thor knew Loki hadn't had any food for days. He'd rejected everything offered to him at the air ship, and had only received substance unwillingly when he was unconscious. Normally it wouldn't have bothered Thor, as Loki tended to ignore meals for days and always had. But this, this was different. He looked sick, and he needed the strength.

The younger hadn't said anything when Thor had come for him, to lead him back to their now shared room. He'd raised himself slowly, as if in a daze and followed his brother – or guard, Thor wasn't sure what he was to Loki at this point. Thor kept his gaze straight as they walked down the hall.  
>A compliant Loki worried him. Always had, always would.<br>Thor wasn't sure Natasha realised the importance of everything his brother had said during her interrogation but he had to wait to confirm this with the others in the morning. All this talk of monsters, Thor didn't know how to deal with it. He'd always liked the stories of terrible beasts far better than this younger brother. The stories of brave warriors, slaying or captivating strange and horrifying creatures. It worried Thor that he didn't truly have any idea for how long Loki had been in the void. He knew the concept of Time was relative in that part of the universe. But the look of Loki, his long hair, his pained expression, his sickly coloured skin not to mention the wounds to his mind. Thor had no doubt that Loki had been trapped for longer than the year he'd been missing from Asgard.

Thor entered his room, Loki following. Thor pulled out a chair, gesturing for his brother to come closer. "Take a seat, brother."  
>Loki didn't look up. "Aren't you going to lock me up again? In your little hole?" he asked softly, his eyes focused on the closed door that led to his quarters. Or cell.<br>Thor made a face. "No. I want to make sure you don't come to harm again. You'll remain here with me until I am certain that wont happen again."

Loki remained standing. Thor sighed, and sat down on the bed, hunched forward as he regarded his brother with a tired expression.

"Are you hungry brother? I can.." Thor offered, but was cut short by an angry growl.

"What do I care for mortals food! I am your prisoner, you may lock me up and your comrades may harm me, but as long as I can still stand on my own I will not eat a thing you throw my way, son of Odin!" Loki snarled, crossing his arms in front of him. "And don't call me brother."

Thor looked at Loki, hurt in his blue eyes. "I would never throw anything at you Loki. You have hurt me and people I care about, I do not trust you but I will never treat you below that of who you are. You must eat, or else it'll cost you your strength."

"Then, by all means, starve me! That should make your mortals happy."

"Brother.."

"I AM NOT YOUR BROTHER, and do get out before I decide to rid you of your brainless head since you seem not bring it to any fit use!"

"I will not fight with you, Loki." Thor reasoned, his voice even and patient.

"Then you should leave me be, _Thor_." Loki whispered, at last looking at Thor, his eyes cold.

"Because if you remain we _will_ fight."

* * *

><p>"When you say 'using' what do you mean?" asked Bruce, eyeing Natasha warily.<p>

She bit her lip, a sign that set Clint en edge – she was unsure, and a unsure Natasha was never a good sign.

"I mean using in every sense of the word. But who, how and why, I have no idea."

"Any chance your spider sense is off?" asked Tony with a small smile, earning him a kick over the shine from Natasha.

"No." she answered with a smirk. "I'm good." then her expression turned dark.

"It's something that has been bugging me ever since I talked with Loki on the Helicarrier, before he escaped -" at this they all looked very solemn, especially Bruce. "- and my talk with him just now reinforced that feeling. He said, _you brought the monster_. I thought he meant you, doctor Banner, but now I'm not so certain anymore."

"How come?" Steve asked, his face betraying none of his feelings. Tony huffed.  
>Natasha reached forward, fast forwarding Jarvis' recording of her talk with Loki. Near the end, she pressed stop. "Observe." she said, and hit play.<p>

_"..ittle human? I lie. I am a liar. I say what I want, when I want. I chose what words I want for you to hear. I chose what you mean, what you think and what you feel."  
><em>She paused again. "I'm not saying that my hunch is correct, but Loki is by far older than any of us." Tony snorted. "Even the capsicle over there." Steve gave him a _very_ tired look.

"You've already made that joke. _Several_ times Stark. Please let it go."

"Amen to that." mumbled Clint.

"Boys." Natasha interrupted them, looking at Tony. "Yes. Both Loki and Thor are old, and have been through a lot or so I gather. It has only come to Thor's attention recently, but I would be very surprised if Loki haven't been using his talents for lying and deceiving in Asgard without his family and people even knowing about it for a very long time. He was their prince. He could easily have used his influence to trick people into believing his words from a very young age, and in doing so becoming more and more skilled at observing and manipulating. You think I'm good? I've been training for over 20 years -"

"Pardon me, how old are you?" Tony interrupted, his expression surprised.

"Twentynine." she deadpanned. Tony whistled, Steve and Bruce shared a look, while Clint seemed to be a mix between angry and sad.  
>Natasha continued, ignoring them "As I was saying, Loki has been manipulating others for quite some time, possible centuries. Hundreds of years, maybe even thousands. That's skill that can't be matched by anyone on Earth, in no way. No one would be able to tell the lies from truth. No human, no machine."<p>

"If your hunch is correct, what does that even tell us?" asked Clint. The archer's voice didn't betray his inner turmoil but in truth Natasha's words troubled him. Deeply. And from the look she shot him he was certain she knew.

"It tells us that we at no time can be certain of Loki's true motives, or anything he says." Bruce said, rubbing his eyes tiredly to which Natasha nodded.

"The brilliance behind a well spoken lie is, that is never a lie. It's a twist of words and reality. For as much as Loki calls himself a liar, I don't doubt that he very often tells the truth but for reasons and with choices of words only he understands. He told me that there was a monster onboard the helicarrier. At that point I thought it meant Bruce, since the Hulk -" she gave a apologetic look which he accepted with a small smile "- fits my first description of a monster. Big, out of control, scary. But when we sit here, in a quiet peaceful room with no immediately danger at us, one realize that monsters comes in many forms beyond the obvious ones."

"Including delusional gods from space." Tony concluded with a sigh. He knew how monsters could hide in people, people you thought were good but then would turn out to be power hungry lunatics with a taste for long monologues and didn't _that_ just a bit too sound familiar?

"How is that we know that this isn't just Loki playing tricks on us again?" asked Clint, scepticism in his voice. "For all we know, he could be planting this doubt in us to throw us off his game."

"Not sure he's sane enough to even have a game by now." Tony said darkly. "Dude's gone passed the critical point a long time ago."

"That's another thing that's bothering me." Natasha piped in. "All this talk of games."

"Loki asked you if he and Thor looked like they'd grown up together." Steve said. "Thor would never use a word like game about a war or even a battle. I'm sure." the others nodded their agreement.

"I agree. Thor would never refer to a war as a game, or an enemy as an ant. We'll have to ask Thor about what Loki's words could mean. Much like you, Natasha, I think he learned more than we did. He tensed up when Loki mentioned monsters, as if the phrase meant something to him." said Clint.

"Did Thor say if he'd come back after he'd returned Loki to his cell?" asked Steve, looking at Natasha who shook her head. "No. He won't leave Loki alone again, on the chance that he tries to harm himself one more time." she replied.

"Then how are we going to ask Thor questions if he wont leave the assbite alone? We can't exactly talk secretly with him right besides us, can we?" said Clint, an unimpressed look on his face.

"We'll work that out tomorrow. It's getting late, we better get some rest and continue this when we're well rested."

"You think we should check on Thor? I mean, Jarvis would tell me if they were ripping the tower apart, but I like to count my blessings." Tony shot in. Steve nodded.

"The two of us check on Thor, the rest of you, sleep. We need it."

* * *

><p>They said their goodnights, and Steve and Tony started to walk down the hallway.<p>

"Jarvis, you there buddy?" Tony asked as they had Clint, Natasha and Bruce out of the way.

"_Always, sir."  
><em>

"Peachy. Any reports on the black haired menace and his blond brother?"

"_Mr. Thor has repeatedly informed me that there is no trouble at all, and that current events are normal._"  
>Tony frowned. "What events?" he asked, worriedly.<p>

"_He and mr. Loki seems to be having a slight disagreement."  
><em>

"Slight? On what scale?" Tony asked, as he exchanged a look with granddad ice and picked up the pace.

"_Much like your disagreement with colonel Rhodes sir, when you were suffering form palladium poisoning." _Steve gave Tony a curious look when Tony laughed suddenly at the thought of that memory. Pepper had been mad. So had the cleaning lady.

"Aw hell." he swore when they closed in on Thor's door. They could hear shouting now, Thor's booming voice and Loki's more high pitched voice being muffled by the door.  
>Steve opened the door, and they braced them selves for what they would find. What they did find threw them off a bit. The room was a mess, as expected. It was apparently impossible to leave two gods alone for half an hour without them trying to destroy your entire home. Shatters of broken interior was spread about the room, broken in what seemed to be fits of sudden anger.<p>

"Loki, stop this!"

Tony and Steve stepped into the room. Thor stood in the middle of the room, looking greatly distressed. Loki stood in the corner, clutching what seemed to be a vase, awkwardly in his chained hands.

"I told you to stop stop bothering me! Leave me _alone_!" Loki yelled, before throwing the very expensive vase directly at Thor's head where it splintered in a thousands pieces. Tony gaped, momentarily speechless at the sight of his broken possession and the very unsettling look on Loki's face. He looked scary.

"You and all of Asgard seems to think you know exactly what I need and when I need it!" Loki spat, stepping closer to Thor.

"Just as the mighty Allfather did, when he took me! When he lied to me! He told you what I am, did he not? You said he did! Why else would you ignore me? Why listen to a beast, a monster! An unruly animal, fit for nothing than to be put away!"

"Loki, it is not what you.." Thor began, causing Loki to laugh, an insane sound like shattering ice.

"It's exactly that! It's what's it always been, me and you. The Allfathers private joke. I had to learn for myself. But _you!_ He told _you_, the mighty Thor, the perfect son. The idiot who needs to have everything told, who can't think even to safe his life! You dare assume you know what I feel?!" Loki screamed.

Tony and Steve observed as Thor advanced on Loki's chained form, holding the muzzle in one of his hands, stern determination written in his features.

"You are forcing me to this, brother. I do not wish to bind you, but you give me no choice when you allow the madness inside of you to speak like this." Thor said sternly, his voice strong. The chains became shorter, at the thunder god's will, forcing Loki's arms down in front of him.

Loki spat, his voice full of venom. "I _loathe_ you, all of you. You, the Allfather, the Allmother, all of Asgard." he hissed, licking his lips in his mad anger "Your death would be too kind a punishment."

Thor didn't reply, but his face showed distress to hear Loki speak such things as he placed the muzzle on his brothers mouth and secured the chains to the floor, giving Loki no option to move. Thor looked around when he felt a hand on his shoulder, only to find Steve and Tony behind him, both with a worried expression. His face quickly composed itself in the face of his two friends.

"I am sorry you had to witness that." he said, looking down at Loki who stared back at him with dark, dull eyes.

"Me too – do you have any idea how much that vase is worth?" asked Tony sadly.

"No, how could I?" answered Thor, a little bewildered.

"Never mind. What got the princess all worked up again?"

After having made sure Loki was in no position to hurt or free himself, Thor led Steve and Tony to the hall. The thunder god looked very sad when he'd finally closed the door behind him.

"I apologize you had to hear that."

"I have feeling we'll get to hear a great deal more in the days to come." Tony remarked, Steve nodding. "Why did he get angry?"

"I.. I can't tell. He asked me to stop talking, but that's how he's always been. I tried to reason with him, but that only made him angrier." Thor said, sadness in his voice. "I am not a perfect brother, nor is he. But I do love him, and I don't understand why he can't see that anymore."

"His anger was probably a reaction to Natasha poking around his thoughts for the good deal of an hour." Tony said. "Look, big guy. I don't know if you've done somethings wrong to Loki in your past. You most likely have, we all fuck up at some point of our life. But that?" Tony pointed at the door. "- that is so much more than just anger or even resentment. I'm not very good at touchy subjects like feelings and truth, but give Natasha time. She'll probably work out what's got him so worked up."  
>Steve padded Thor on the arm. "Get some sleep now. We'll talk tomorrow."<p>

* * *

><p>Loki listened when the idiot and the mortals left the room. He could feel his breathing in the muzzle, the damp and the heat. The lack of oxygen calmed his head and the fog of anger left again. He remained on the floor, chained to the floor for his 'protection'. How it could ever protect him to be left helpless was beyond him to understand. Thor had been around those mortals for far too long, it clearly didn't do his already lacking intelligence any favours.<p>

The damp from his breath made the muzzle uncomfortable against his chin and skin, the taste of metal harsh on his tongue. Loki sank, biting back the bitter words he couldn't express. And found he'd forgotten why he wanted to say them. His heart stopped in his chest at that thought, his eyes wide and open. '_My thoughts are my own, my mind is mine to command.' _he thought, desperately fighting against the binds, knowing it was a lost battle. _'My mind is mine.' _he repeated, his inner voice shaking with doubt as the cold crept up behind him, stroking his neck gently before taking a hold. Chained and muzzled, he couldn't make a sound for help or even one of pain. Loki remained still, panic welling up in his chest as he desperately tried to force air into his lungs. When he thought he was going to pass out, the pressure released him and he felt air stream down into his lungs. Loki almost choked at the sensation, as he leaned forward, coughing silently in the muzzle, the metal taste in his mouth becoming even stronger as blood forced itself into his mouth with his hives. He opened his eyes, and saw red. Loki almost screamed, as he thought his eyes had turned. But then he calmed. Blood was dripping from his nose, onto the floor, staining the carpet among the bits and pieces of the iron mans destroyed property. He felt like he was going to be sick, the blood still coming into his mouth and he gagged.

He remained like that, for a few minutes, unmoving on the floor, when Loki heard the door open and Thor entered the room again.

"Loki, what have you done!" Thor exclaimed when he saw the blood on his brothers face. Loki almost rolled his eyes when Thor gently wiped the blood away from his face and pressed the cloth to his nose. "You shouldn't get so angry." Thor murmured, more to himself which was the only reason Loki didn't try to kill him right in that moment. That, and the fact that Thor removed the muzzle. Loki spat the blood out of his mouth, breathing deeply as the sick feeling left him.

Thor went to bed, after having made sure Loki would be as comfortable as he could be, chained to the floor. In the faint light he never once saw the white marks on Loki's throat, the marks of a hand.

Loki ignored Thor's worried eyes, and closed his own. In that second he saw clearly, for the first time in days.. The signs of manipulating, of a disrupted reality. It made him feel sick to his core. He felt violated, and the dead feeling inside him only grew.

'_My mind is not my own._'

But the realization slipped away from him, and he knew no more as he fell through the abyss and the nightmares claimed him.

* * *

><p><em>I wrote this chapter while I was waiting for my beta to read through chapter four (she's busy, bless her!). So, in that way you get your chapters quicker (and it only took me a month to think of this). They haven't been beta'd yet though, so I excuse for my weird grammar. Please feel free to point it out, I do try to learn and correct.<em>

_I've finally sat down and worked out a plan for what this story is actually going to be about. I hadn't really thought that much about it before, I just wanted to write Loki angst and Thor Feels._

_I have no idea how old Natasha is. I couldn't find a reliable source, so I just made her around Scarlett's age. Seemed appropriate. _


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer:  
>I own nothing, all rights go to Marvel and Disney.<p>

oOo

**Fuel to Fire**

oOo

Chapter 6

_Odin looked up as Tyr walked into the throne room.  
><em>

_"What news do you bring, good Tyr?" the Allfather asked. The war god nodded.  
><em>

_"The Collector has lost the Aether. Apparently another customer of his appeared with what we think was another Infinity Stone. It blew up his collection, and in the following chaos the Aether disappeared."  
>Odin nodded, his face serious. "This is ill news. Who was this customer? Where did they find a Infinity Stone?"<em>

"_They call themselves the Guardians of the Galaxy. They are little more than criminals, but apparently they all have a immense dislike for injustice. They managed to keep the power stone out of Ronan's hands."  
>Odin frowned. "What does Ronan the Accurser want with the an Infinity Stone?"<em>

_Tyr looked grave. "Apparently he had been hired by Thanos to collect it." At this news Odin felt his eyes widen. He nodded to Tyr, giving him leave. As his Commander walked away, Odin turned to Frigga besides him. She looked worried.  
><em>

_"If Thanos has the Aeather, and knows how to wield it's power, no one is safe." she said. Odin nodded in agreement.  
><em>

_"Huginn, Muninn." the two ravens soared down to him, settling on the Allfathers knees. They looked at him with their dark eyes as he gently stroked their black feathered heards.  
><em>

_"Bring this message to Thor. It is urgent that he returns to Asgard as soon as possible." Odin began, and the birds listened carefully to the message._

* * *

><p>Ever since he'd been released from Loki's control, Clint had had trouble sleeping.<br>He dreamt of the things he'd done.  
>So it wasn't unusual for Clint to be up and about quite early, getting only a few hours of sleep every night. He sat in Starks living room, coffee in one hand and a arrow in the other. He was spinning it absent-mindedly as the strong drink worked it's magic on his head.<br>Clint knew it would get better, giving a few weeks. He had killed colleagues before, people who'd turned on SHIELD. So right now, he accepted his fate as a involuntarily hit man. He lost a few hours of sleep. He could live with that.

Clint looked up when the door opened and Thor appeared, dressed, looking exhausted but his bright eyes as alert as ever.

" 'morning." Clint said, raising his coffee mug in greeting. Thor nodded, walking towards the archer.

"Good morning, friend Barton. How come you are up so early?" Thor said, sitting down beside him.  
>Clint shrugged. "Can't sleep." he said, draining his coffee.<br>Thor nodded. "It is understandable. It's only been little more than nine days. But I'm sure, in time you'll get to sleep again."  
>Clint gave Thor a small smile. "I'm counting on it." He got up. "Want some coffee?"<br>Thor lit up. "I would like that."  
>Clint returned a few moments later, with two steaming cups of coffee in hand, handing one to Thor.<p>

"Why are you up? It's only 5 in the morning." asked Clint after they'd sat in a few moments of silence.

Thor took a drink, looking a head. "Loki's asleep. I feared I'd wake him. He refuses to eat and he's very weak. He needs rest before lady Natasha can speak with him again."

That made sense. "I bet you snore a lot, being the god of thunder and all?" Clint asked, smirking, raising his coffee to his lips.  
>Thor chuckled. "That is true. And Loki hates it."<p>

"All the more reason for you to remain asleep." Clint pointed out, setting down his up, his voice bitter. Thor looked at the archer, his eyes apologetic.

"I am very sorry for what my brother put you through, my friend."

"It not for you to apologize for." Clint said, but then he smiled. "But thank you anyway."

"You and Natasha have known each other for a long time?"

"Not long, by your standards. A little over ten years." Clint answered, putting his drained cup down. He looked at Thor. "How old are you?"

"Well over a thousands of your years."  
>Clint whistled. Thor smiled, and put down his cup. "I thank you for the coffee, and the honour of speaking with you." He looked at Clint. "One thing I've learned about humans, my friend, is that you put too much faith in the amount of years one has lived. It does not take ages to achieve greatness." he said seriously. Clint looked at him, mute for moment.<p>

"Why do you say that?" he asked.

"In your eyes, the age of both myself and Loki seems to put us at at greater advantage. But you are wrong about that. It is true that I've learned much in my many years under my parents tutor ledge. But it took meeting Jane Foster and her friends for me to actually know what to do with all that knowledge."

"I guess." Clint replied. "But your baby brother doesn't seem agree with you on that. He thinks himself superior in every way."  
>Thor didn't reply. He stood up, walking towards the windows where the sky was just beginning to lighten in the east. Clint was confused for a moment until he noticed the black bird sitting on the window, pecking on the glass.<p>

"Hey, isn't that.." he said, quickly following Thor.

"Muninn." Thor said, opening the window, allowing the bird inside the tower. The raven hopped inside, and onto Thor's outstretched arm with a soft, musical sound.

"Greetings, messenger. You bring words from my Father?" Thor said, bringing the bird up to his eyes.  
>Clint watched, not really sure how he should react to that fact that Thor apparently could speak with the bird. But that thought vaporised when Muninn started to speak, looking Thor directly in the eyes. Clint couldn't understand what the bird said, but from the look on Thor's face he figured it wasn't good news.<br>When the raven stopped speaking – or what you called it – Thor nodded this thanks to the bird, who flew off, before turning to Clint. "My friend, could you.."

"..go fetch the others?" Clint finished the sentence, yawning. "Got it."

* * *

><p>"The Infinity what?" Tony just about had it with magic and gods and aliens. It had only been a week and a half since they fought off an alien invasion, and it seemed that the Universe now had decided to unveil everything. Ignorance was bliss, and he was beginning to sorely miss it.<br>They were in the conference room, with Fury on screen, scowling down at them like it was somehow their fault that everything just had gotten even weirder.

"_Thor, talk to me. What is this new nonsense?_" Fury demanded, his voice extremely tired.

"The Infinity Stones." Thor explained. "There are six stones, each with a unique ability. They predate the Universe, and are powers of infinite destruction. They have been under Asgards protection for many years, but it seems that the stones have grown restless. They scatter temselves, finding new hosts and allies. This morning, I received news from Asgard about them. It appears, that the Collector Taneleer Tivan who was entrusted with the protection of the Reality Stone – also known as the Aether – has failed his task and lost it. My father fears that it has fallen into the hands of Thanos."

"Who's Thanos?" asked Steve, arms crossed in front of him. He looked worried.

"An intergalactic conqueror. We haven't heard from him for thousands of years, ever since Odin banished him from the Universe. We thought him gone, but it seems he's on the move. Other criminals throughout the Universe has been reported to do his bidding. Thanos steals children, killing their families, and raising them as assassins. Oddly enough, one of his daughters - that is what he calls his assassins - have turned on him. She was the one who kept the Orb from being delivered to Thanos. It was when she wanted to sell the Orb - the Power stone - to Tivan that he lost the Aether."

"How?" asked Bruce curiously.

"The Orb's power can't be contained by mortals and apparantly it blew up his house and collection. The Aeather got lost in the following confusion. Gamora, Thanos daughter, managed to get away with the Orb and her friends."

"_Why did Odin inform you of this?_" asked Fury.

"He wishes me to return home as soon as possible, with the Tesseract and Loki. As it is one of the Infinity Gems, it should be guarded in Asgard where Thanos cannot reach it should he try and collect them all. That would bring ruin to the entire Universe."

"The Tesseract is a Infinity Stone?" Tony sounded quite alarmed. "How did it end up on Earth? I thought you said -" he looked at Steve "- that Hydra used it back in World War Two." Steve nodded.

"They found it, in Norway." the soldier confirmed. Tony frowned, quickly piecing the puzzle together. "You put it here, didn't you? Asgard? You left the Tesseract on Earth." he said, voice accusing.

"I believe the Allfather thought no one would look for it here. The Earth has held no interest to any other world so far. And for a thousand years it has been safe." Thor defended.

"Yeah, well that boat has sailed now." Tony remarked, shaking his head, resting his head in his hand. He looked at Thor. "Let me guess – the Tesseract allow its holder to travel through space?"

"It is called the Space Gem, that is correct." Thor agreed.

"How did Loki know it was on Earth?" asked Natasha

"He can't have. Somebody must've told him."

"_Agent Romanoff._" Fury said, causing all of them to look at the screen. "_I don't care how you do it. But find out from where Loki got this intel and report directly to me.__If we face another invasion, I want to know about it yesterday."_

Natasha nodded. "Of course sir."  
>Fury huffed. "<em>Good." <em>and the link went dead.  
>Natasha looked at Thor. "Before we talk with Loki again, there's some things I wish to speak with you about." she said, leaning back in her chair.<p>

"The others told me you tensed up yesterday, when Loki mentioned monsters. What meaning does that word hold to you?"  
>Thor hesitated before explaining. "You remember me telling you about Loki's true heritage?"<p>

"Sure." Tony and the others nodded.

"Over a thousand years ago, Jotunheimr and Asgard were at war. Asgard won, but at great costs. Many died, leaving their husbands, wifes and children behind. Many stories were told, and every child on Asgard grew up with tales of the ice monsters of Jotunheimr, the jotuns. Including Loki and I. We were taught to fear them, and later to hate them. When Loki learned that he, in fact, were a jotun himself, he was beyond grief. My father and mother told of this. He called himself a monster. That's the reason he tried to kill him all, to distance himself from them."

"So, what you are saying is, that when Loki speaks of monsters, he could actually be speaking of himself?" Steve asked surprised. Thor nodded.

"I am sure."

"It makes sense." Natasha shot in. "When I asked him about the Void, he said that the only thing that exist in there are what you bring yourself. The news of him being a part of a race that he hates most likely send him over the edge into insanity. He's not able to see himself as anything else but what he's been taught and so he embraced it, allowing it to dictate his actions and at the same time using the lies your parents have told him as a shield – wont you say, doctor?"

"It's entirely possible." Bruce agreed. "Loki most likely sees himself as something unique, someone without a race or family. It makes him feel special, and at the same time worthless."

"But he has a family!" Thor objected, heatedly. "I told him of our mothers grief, of how we mourned when we thought him dead. He laughed.."

"Thor, I know you don't like to admit it – but the news of his true heritage most likely caused him to have a mental breakdown. He tried to kill himself because of it, throwing himself of the Bifrost. That is not normal behaviour. Whatever happened to him after that fall will only have fuelled his madness even more, causing him to sink lower into his own mind. He no longer sees clearly." Bruce reasoned. Thor sighed heavily.

"If I hadn't been banished, none of this would've happened."

"You can't think like that. It won't change anything, and I'm afraid it would've happened anyway. Don't take the blame for your parents and Loki's mistakes." Bruce said seriously. "None of the above gives anyone the right to try and kill an entire race, or to invade a planet."  
>Thor didn't reply, he looked at the video feed showing him Loki. It had been running through the entire meeting. Loki was awake. He was lying down, staring up into the celling. He hadn't moved since he woke up. He had merely opened his eyes.<p>

They all followed Thor's gaze. "You think he's up for another of Widow's little talks?" asked Tony, doubt in his voice as he watched their prisoner. "Because to me it looks like that little temper tantrum he threw last night broke whatever sanity he had left."

"What happened last night?" asked Clint.

"Steve and I went to check on Thor, after the rest of you went to bed. We found him and Loki arguing. Or, Loki screaming and destroying my property and Thor trying to stop him." Tony summarised.

"And you didn't bother telling the rest of us?" asked Clint dryly. "I prefer to know when the princess is upset."  
>Thor growled at the jab, but Clint ignored him. Tony waved him off. "It wasn't serious, just Loki screaming at Thor. Although." he squinted at the screen. "Why is he covered in blood?"<p>

"When I returned to him after I spoke with you and friend Steve, I found him bleeding. If he had harmed himself again, or simply having gotten a nosebleed from his anger I don't know. But he was out of breath and seemed to calm down after I removed the muzzle again." Thor explained.

"Although I did find it odd that he didn't resumed to yell at me after I removed the muzzle. Instead he seemed to sink deep into himself, thinking. When I deemed he wouldn't cause any danger to himself, I went to sleep."

"When was the last time he ate?" Bruce asked suddenly.

"I don't think he's eaten anything while on Earth." Thor replied.

"I don't recall him doing much but walking around talking, or meditating while he was controlling me." Clint informed.  
>"So almost two weeks without any food. Thor, I know you are as close to gods as we can get, but is that healthy? At this rate, he wont be able to answer Natasha's questions."<p>

"He refuses to eat anything. That was one of the things we fought about. He said he would rather starve."

"Fine by me." Clint muttered. Thor looked at him, frowning with a new found wonder. "He said, you would say that." the thunder god explained when Clint looked at him with a raised eyebrow. The statement made Clint extremely uncomfortable. "Well, the fucker should know, having lived in my head for several days." he growled, avoiding their gaze.

Thor returned his attention back to the screen. Loki hadn't moved.

"I'll go fetch Loki, and bring him to you, Natasha." he offered, standing up. She gave him a smile.

"Thank you. And, Thor?" he stopped and turned to her. "I would like for you to stay with me and Loki this time." Thor nodded, before exiting the room.  
>Clint frowned at Natasha. "Why do you need Thor for, Nat?"<p>

Black Widow stood up, adjusting her jacket. "I seem to have missed all of Loki's emotional outbursts so far, and I'm not going to miss out on the next one." she answered, with a wink.

* * *

><p>"Why did you attack Earth?" Natasha asked. She sat in front of Loki, Thor standing behind her. Loki was chained to the floor once again, staring right at her, a fire in his eyes. He didn't answer.<p>

"How did you know the Tesseract was on Earth?" she pressed, still not getting any answers.

It had been going on for a while now. A few times she thought she'd seen a hint of emotion, but it disappeared again so quickly she was unsure it had even been there. She didn't show it, but Loki's lack of speaking worried her more than the fact that he was most defiantly ill. He had followed Thor without a fight to the room, save a few nasty words aimed to hurt his brother. That had been all. He was pale, his eyes sunken and the skin around them red and dark. He had lost weight too.

Natasha looked at Thor, and found his face as unreadable as Loki's. But he gave her a small nod. She looked back at Loki. "What do you know of Thanos?"

Loki blinked when she voiced her question. She was pleased to get an reaction out of him, and leaned forward. "So the name means something to you?" she pressed.

Loki's head leaned forward ever so slightly, his eyes never leaving hers. He breathed a soft laugh.

"The Mad Titan? His name should mean something to all in the universe." he whispered, his voice raw. His eyes traveled to Thor.

"That is, all that bothers to learn about the place they are supposed to rule some day." he closed his eyes, the slight smile still on his lips. He drew breath slowly, looking back at Black Widow, his bright eyes mocking.

"You are mere children. How come you've heard the name? By whom? Surely not my dearest brother, who so stands guard behind you, protecting you from the mad prisoner."

"You father told us." Natasha informed, her voice bored.

A dangerous glint entered Loki's eyes, and he drew a quick breath, like hiss.

"I have no father, agent Romanoff. I killed him. If you speak of the lying Allfather, I claim no kinship with him." he fell silent, his eyes darting between Thor and Natasha.

"Then what of mother? Do you not claim kinship to her either? She, who taught you your magic?" Thor asked, anger in his voice. Loki looked at him, as if only just remembering he was in the room.

"No." he said curtly. "Whatever lies she fostered me on, I now see past them."

"Mother has never lied to you!" Thor said, stepping forward. Natasha threw up her arm, stopping the thunder god from getting too close.

Loki stood up too, the mad rage shining from his eyes. "She has lied to me my entire life! I am not her son, how dared she pretend so!" he growled, his hands shaking, causing the chains to rattle.

"She does love you! She was the one who saw you were alive, who send me here to bring you home!" Thor argued back, a clap of thunder sounding. "She has worn black for an entire year.."

Loki laughed, a pained, broken sound.

"I do apologizes for that! But as I was too occupied by being thorn to shreds by reality and time, I had little time to consider what my actions did to the Allmothers gowns!"

"How dare you insult her!" Thor said, forcing himself past Natasha, grabbing Loki by his collar, lifting him him, their faces mere inches apart. "You know nothing of what your actions did to her!"  
>Loki merely stared at Thor, an ugly snarl on his face. Natasha had gotten up, standing behind Thor.<p>

"Then why did you throw me, brother dear?" Loki asked, his voice as cold as a dead star. He slammed his forehead against Thors, staring him in the eyes. Thor could feel his breath, the icing cold from his brother. "WHY DID YOU THROW ME OFF THE BIRFROST?" Loki kicked out, and Thor dropped him in surprise. Loki took stance, as a wounded animal, bent over, his arms slugging forward. He breathed hard.

"You brought her this pain! You hurt her!" he lashed out at Thor, who stepped back, out of reach.

"YOU CAUSED HER PAIN! YOU PAINED ME! YOU LEFT ME ALONE!" blinded by tears Loki fought the chains, drawing blood.

"Do you know for how long I was in the Void! Years! Do you know how I survived in the cold nothing?! What I had to do to myself?!" Loki screamed, his eyes turning red with anger and resentment, the blue shade of his natural skin forced its way out. Thor gapped, the same did Natasha. Loki, in his jotun form, stood in front of them. Tears of humiliation and rage rolled down his cheeks as Loki looked at his hands, a look of pure disgust written in every inch of his posture and face.

"I had to do this to myself, in order to live.. I had to lower myself to this monstrous form to be able to breath the air and even then the Void turned me to ice! I would do anything to escape, anything!" the red eyes and blue skin disappeared once again. Thor stared at Loki, for once speechless.

Loki ignored the stinging in his eyes, the streaks of blood mixing with the clear crystal tears falling from his eyes. He was shaking. "That was how _he_ found me.." he whispered, brokenly, stumbling forward, sinking to the ground, his body limp. Natasha pushed pass Thor who seemed rooted to the spot, catching Loki before he could hit the ground. She felt Loki tense against her, but before she could let go of him, a sharp object pressed itself against her throat. She froze, and Thor cried out, alarmed.

"One move -" Loki whispered, dragging himself to his feet weakly, pulling Natasha up with him, the knife against her pale neck. "- and she is dead."

* * *

><p><em>I've official screwed up the timeline. You'll understand later. But from now on, it's completely AU but with heavy inspiration from MCU. If there's something you don't understand, please PM me :)<em>

_I live of reviews and faves. Want a quicker update? How 'bout a little review. I'll love you forever!_


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer:  
>I own nothing, all rights go to Marvel and Disney.<p>

oOo

**Fuel to Fire**

oOo

Chapter 7

Thor stepped forward cautiously. "Loki, let her go." he asked, gently.  
>Loki tightened his grip on Natasha, backing away. His eyes narrow and his lips trembling.<p>

"Don't come closer, brother!" he sneered, pressing the knife closer to Natashas unprotected neck, drawing blood. She winced in pain, but remained calm as she allowed Loki to pull her back as far as the chains would allow, creating space between them and Thor. The thunder god remained where he was, fearful for his comrades safety in the unstable hands of his brother. He kept a watchful eye on Loki the entire time, never backing away but not coming any closer either.

"Loki, don't make this worse for yourself." Thor said, pleading with his brother. "Just release her and no consequences need to come of this."

"_Worse_?" Loki repeated, his voice high. Natasha struggled against his hold, and Loki focused on her instead of Thor. He forced her head backwards, stroking the knife over her skin.

"Keep still." He whispered coldly, pressing his mouth against her red hair, close to her ear. She shivered when his cold breath touched her skin. "Or I will hurt you." Loki's eyes flickered back to Thor. They seemed darker and more hollow than ever.

"Remove the chains. You release me. Those are my conditions. Release me, and I'll spare her miserable short life." Loki demanded.

"No you wont." Natasha managed to say despite the hold on her throat, her voice tight from the awkward position of her high held head. Loki's mouth twitched, a ghost of a smile on his lips. He licked his dry lips, watching her with ill humour. "He will stop you." she added, as Loki barked out a hollow laugh.

"Who, Thor?" he asked, his voice soft with sick anticipation. "I don't see how he can without you loosing your head. Perhaps you would like to test me?"

Thor made a move as to step forward, but was instead thrown off balance when the floor shook as a roar echoed trough the tower.

Natasha smirked. "Not Thor" she said, as a crash sounded from below them, startling Loki. "The _other_ guy."

Loki had barely regained his footing when the door to the room was blown apart, entering a very big, very strong and extremely pissed off Hulk. The beast shook his giant head, clearing debris from his eyes as he stomped into the room. Thor quickly backed away, closer to Loki.

"Loki, LET HER GO!" he pleaded, as Hulk scanned the room with wild eyes, finally settling on Loki and his hostage in the far most off corner of the room. Hulk sneered, hammering his hands into the floor as he roared again.

"Banner, NO!" Thor yelled, desperately trying to stop him as Hulk charged. Natasha freed herself from Loki's grip when she felt his arms slack their hold on her. Loki seemed petrified in shock, and she quickly ducked out of the way as Hulks fist soared through the air, knocking Loki back through the room, slamming the god against the wall with a pained yell. He didn't even get a chance to fall down before Hulk was over him, raining down punches over and over again. With another roar, Hulk smashed Loki through the wall and into the next room, quickly following behind in the cloud of dust and debris flying through the air. The chains was ripped from the floor in the process, flying after, snapping through the air. Loki screamed in pain, but his cries was soon drowned out by Hulks furious roars.

Thor hurried after. "Banner, stop this!" Thor attempted, throwing himself at Hulk's back, attempting to restrain his arms from punching the life out of Loki.  
>Natasha got up just as Iron Man, Hawkeye and Captain America ran into the room, having apparently been left behind when Bruce lost control of Hulk. She gave them a quick nod, assuring them of her wellbeing. She pressed her hand against the shallow wound to her neck.<p>

"I'm good." she said. "It's just a scratch."

"Good." Steve said. His face was grim. "Banner lost control." Clint rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, thanks for stating the obvious, Cap! We have to stop him before he rips my tower apart!" Iron Man shot back, as Thor soared through the room, crashing down in front of them. Hulk didn't follow, and by the sound of it he had resumed to punching the living daylights out of Loki. Thor groaned as he quickly raised himself.

"Banner will not listen. If he continues like this, he'll kill him!" he said, looking at the others desperately.

The Avengers shared a look, and Thor's face fell, his eyes hardening.

Then Captain America nodded, breaking the tension. "Iron Man, you and Thor – you handle Hulk. Hawkeye and I get Loki out of there."  
>However, before they could rush into action, the noise of battle ceased. They all rushed to the other room, finding Bruce kneeling on the floor, collecting his destroyed clothes around him. He looked up, a scared look on his face.<p>

"Sorry.." he said weakly as they entered. The room was completely destroyed. Chunks of concrete lay scattered about, dust hanging thickly in the air.

Thor pattered Bruce on the shoulder as he quickly walked pass him. Loki was easy enough to spot among the rubble.  
>He laid on the remains of the floor, having been slammed into the ground multiple times it seemed. He didn't move as Thor carefully kneeled down beside him.<br>The others slowly walked up behind Thor, Steve pulling off his helmet as he knelt down besides Thor, surveying the damage caused by Hulk's freakout.  
>"Is he alive?" Steve asked, his voice worried, just as Thor took his brothers abused hand in his. The chains had cut through the already damaged skin, leaving nothing but flesh and bared bone.<p>

"Loki?" Thor asked, feeling for a pulse. "Can you hear me?"

Thor had hoped for a weak pulse, a shimmer of a eyelash, maybe movement. So when he felt the rapid pulse of his brother, and how Loki's hand quickly grabbed hold of Thor's own, he was too shocked to react. He simply stared as Loki's eyes snapped open, staring at him with a clarity Thor hadn't seen in days, if not years. Gone was the fog, the haunted look, the blank numbness. The blue eyes was as sharp as Thor remembered them from growing up, although pain quickly dulled his gaze, drowning out a bit of the steely stare.

"Thor!" Loki gasped weakly, fumbling to regain a better hold on his brothers hand with his trembling hands. Blood was everywhere. Loki was bleeding from a bad cut to the head and the god's would know how many bones he'd broken. But still, he held on to Thor. He gasped for breath, coughing up blood. "Thor.." he said again, his voice growing weaker.

"I am here, brother." Thor reassured. "You will be fine."

"Ooo-of course I will, you fool." Loki stammered. His body convulsed, and he threw himself aside, vomiting up blood.

"Oh jeez.." Tony breathed. "Guys, we better get him to the ER before he bleeds to death."

"You have an ER?" Natasha asked, eyebrow raised.

"I may sometime injure myself, that's not important right now!" Tony snapped back.  
>Thor ignored their bickering, helping Loki back up and away from the blood as careful as he could without causing him further pain. Loki let go of Thor's hand, placing it behind his brothers neck, pushing Thor's head down to his own.<p>

"_Thor_.." he breathed, darkness dancing in the corners of his eyes. His body had almost given up, it was by pure determination he kept himself from passing out.

"What is it?" Thor asked, letting Loki rest his head against his own forehead. It bought pained memories back from their youth.

Loki stared into Thors eyes, blood dripping from his chin in a steady movement as he tried to speak.

"_Than-no.. has.. the st..__._" Loki coughed, spitting out blood with each word. Thor felt it hit his face but he kept his gaze locked steady with Lokis vibrating eyes. Loki took a deep, rattling breath. "_The st..one..." _Loki's voice had gotten a slight panicked note as he stared at Thor, desprate to be understood.

"What are you saying?" Thor asked gently, as he felt Lokis hold on his neck becoming slack.

Loki breathed hard, before seemingly deflating before their eyes.

"_C..ognitive.. re-calibr._." Loki whispered, before his closed his eyes, as he allowed the darkness to claim him.  
>Thor looked up at the wide eyed Avengers with Loki unconscious in his arms. He felt his own amazement, but there was more pressing matters to attend to. His eyes found Bruce, who had managed to collect his clothes around him.<p>

"Doctor, can you see to him?" he begged.

Bruce was amazed by Thor. Hulk had beat him, and Loki, more times that he could remember and yet he was still the first person Thor turned to when in regard to his brothers health. Even when he was single-handedly responsible for the damage.  
>Bruce kneeled on the other side of Loki, opposite Thor and Steve.<p>

"He's alive, which is something." he muttered, carefully checking up on Lokis vitals and the amount of damaged. Bruce looked up, catching Tony's eyes. "I need a stretcher. Do you have one?"

"Of course I do." Tony replied, arms crossed. Bruce gave him a look. "Oh, you want me to get it?"

"Yes, if you wouldn't mind."

"Actually, I would – cupid, you're up." Clint gave Tony a blank look.

"I'm not you errand boy, Stark."

"Guys!" Bruce snapped, a slight growl to his voice that caused everybody to shut up. "Stretcher, now! Clint, prepare the ER. We can't use blood transfusion, so we have to patch him up quickly."

"Fine fine!" Tony and Clint both disappeared, Tony to get the stretcher, Clint to prepare the ER.

"You asgardians are truly amazing. I can't believe he survived that beating." Bruce marvelled, as they sat in silence.

"I'm not sure an asgardian would've survived that, not one as weak as Loki were. Jotuns are tough, very tough." Thor replied. "He may despise them and even himself. But his true nature have saved his life more than once." Thor sighed. "I do wish I could get him to see that he isn't a monster."

"His nature may not be monstrous, but his actions are." Steve said. Thor looked at him, anger in his eyes.

"I have not forgot what Loki has done, friend Steve! Do not take me for a fool."

"I don't. But as Widow earlier told us, we have to keep in mind that Loki tries to manipulate us."

"You can't expect him to be manipulating you, now? Have you not seen him? He's drowning in his own blood!" Thor said, just as Bruce rolled Loki onto his side, to ease his breathing and keep him from choking on his own blood.  
>Steve didn't answer, and Thor wisely chose to ignore the team leader, returning his attention to Loki. Just then Tony reappeared with the stretcher. "Here you are, Brucie."<br>Bruce nodded his thanks. "Thor, lift him gently onto it. He's got a lot of broken bones, and some internal bleeding, but by some miracle Hulk didn't break either his neck or back. But I need to get him to the ER and make sure just what the damage is. I might need help, so one of you better call Fury"  
>Gently, with more care than anyone would think the thunder god could muster, Thor lifted Loki from the floor. Blood dripped on the floor as he carried him to the stretcher and carefully laid him down. Bruce took charge, guiding the stretcher out of the room with Thor following closely behind, leaving Tony, Steve and Natasha in the destroyed room. Tony looked around, a frown on his head.<p>

"Okay, I stop collecting holes made by gods now. Jarvis, do get someone to clean that up that mess." Tony informed the AI.

"_Certainly_. _May I ask why, sir? You seemed rather thrilled about it yesterday."  
><em>

_"_They seem to happen on a regular basis." Tony shrugged. "I only like originals."

* * *

><p>They did call Fury, not really believing he would offer them any help at all.<br>Fury had raised an eyebrow at the news of Hulk beating up Loki, smirking while he received a quick brief of what had happened. Despite it all, he agreed to send a medic to assist Bruce in patching up Loki. First he refused, but when Thor started to argue, a thunderstorm quickly brewing on the entire east coast with thunder and heavy rain, he reluctantly agreed to send a medic to avoid Earths first intergalactic diplomatic crisis.

Thor watched from outside the ER, as Bruce and the shield doctor worked together to stabilize Loki. Thor had removed the chains, allowing the two doctors to bandage Loki's heavily injured wrists. The shield medic amazed them. She didn't even mention the fact that her patient was Loki, terrorist and war criminal. Right now he was simply her patient, and she and Bruce worked efficiently as a team. They soon stopped the bleeding, and started to undo the damage to Loki's many broken bones.

Having finally come to the conclusion that Loki would in fact survive his ordeal (not that he'd had any doubt), Thor left the ER window to go join his comrades.  
>He found them in the kitchen, eating dinner. Natasha had had her wound cleaned and wrapped, and the only thing witnessing her stand off with Loki was the now white bandage around her slender neck. Otherwise she looked like herself.<p>

Tony raised his glas in greeting as Thor sat down. "Since you are here, I assume I'm not hosting a funeral?" he joked, but the smile never reached his eyes.

"Doctor Banner told me Loki would survive, he just needs time to recover. He's still unconscious, but not in any danger." Thor replied, his voice relieved.

"Will Bruce join us?" asked Steve as Thor sat down beside Clint. The big man nodded.

"He said he would come in a few minutes, he's saying farewell to the medic that assisted him, thanking her for her service."

"I honestly didn't think Fury would send anyone." Tony said, his voice thoughtful. "But I guess even Fury have to set aside personal hatred when the threat of an intergallactic diplomatic crisis rises. You got quite a temper there, Point Break. Hit every weather report!"

"Don't be an idiot Stark, of course Fury wouldn't let Loki die." Clint replied, while Thor coloured slightly. "Although my guess is that he's over the moon that Bruce managed to give Loki a good beating."

"Well, I'm not." Bruce said as he stepped into the kitchen. He had changed, and now looked clean and whole. His eyes had a haunted look as he sat down next to Tony. "Loosing control over Hulk is not pleasant."

Clint didn't reply, but looked apologetic. Thor, who'd had his eyes fixed on Clint, a muscle working in his jaw, turned his eyes on Bruce. His eyes softened noticeably.

"My family and I owe you a debt, doctor Banner, for aiding Loki. I thank you." Bruce shook his head.  
>"Hardly, as it was my alter ego who nearly punched Loki to death. If the doctor Layla hadn't come - the shield medic - I'm not sure I could've saved him."<p>

"I know it looked bad, but don't forget that Loki isn't human. He's stronger than you think. But no matter what, I am grateful to you. You will have aided his healing process grately." Thor replied, smiling. Then he frowned.

"Why did you loose control over friend Hulk? How did it happen?"

"When Loki attacked Natasha." Tony supplied helpfully. Natasha looked surprised, turning her attantion from scowling at Clint to looking at Bruce.  
>Bruce avoided her eyes, starring down at the table instead.<p>

"I know you could've handled it." he mumbled. "But.. I think my worries got the better off me. And when Loki pulled that knife to your throat, I couldn't surpress him."

"I'm sorry." Natasha said. "But actually, I got just the reaction that I wanted. So there's no need for you to feel bad."

Bruce looked up, starring at her, eyes wide in shock. As did the others.

"You manipulated Loki and Bruce, so that Hulk would come out?" asked Steve, his voice serious. "I wouldn't have thought that of you, agent Romanoff."

She shrugged. "It got at little bit out of hand. I never meant for Bruce to Hulk-out, only to give Loki the idea that he was in charge for a moment. How was I to know that he had a knife on him?" at this she looked at Thor, question in her eyes.

"Knifes are Loki chosen weapon. He has several hidden in his clothes, sealed with magic so only he can acces them. I knew he had one or more, but I had no idea you would offer yourself up as his captive!" the thunder god defended.

Tony shook his head. "You are all insane." he stated, looking at Natasha. "No more manipulating under my roof, got it? At least run it by us beforehand, k?"

Natasha nodded. "Promise."

"So.." Steve said, gaining her attention. "Did you get what you wanted? Did Loki's actions tell you anything more."

Natasha thought for a moment. "The source of his breakdown are the events on Asgard, him founding out who he really is. You were right, Bruce - he absolutely hates himself. Did you see his face when he transformed?"

"Don't think I'll ever forget it." Tony remarked, his eyes dark as he looked at Thor. The thunder god avoided their sympathic looks, focusing on Natasha and Bruce.

"Are there any hope of curing him from this madness?" Thor asked, his voice hopeful.

"Maybe there could've been, before he fell. But I'm afraid what ever happened to him in the Void, it did permarnent damage. He's not interessted to return to who he was." Bruce explained, and Thor's face fell. "That being said, I believe that he's extremely unstable now and that _can_ be helped. I don't think you'll ever get the brother, you once knew, back again. But given time and healing, I think Loki should be able to at least to escape the psychotic meltdowns he suffers from now."

Thor nodded, his eyes sad but his face determined. "I will aid him. It can be a part of his imprisonment and punishment, we can help him in Asgard."

"Also, Thor?" the god looked at Natasha. Her eyes were surprisingly kind. "I don't think Loki hates you and your mother just as much as he lets on. He despises your father, but when he thought that you had caused your mother pain, he went crazy." Thor took a deep breath.

"I have a hard time myself understanding the Allfathers actions in recards to Loki. There is always meaing behind what the Allfather does, but the meaning this time escapes me. In time, perhaps I'll know." he gave a weak smile. "But it gladens me to hear you say so. Mother has always loved Loki deeply, and his hatred would cause her great harm."

"Then why does he do it?" asked Steve, curious. Bruce frowned, a thoughtful look on his face.

"In this case, it's a defense mechanism. Loki hides behind hatred and anger, blaiming everyone else but himself for what has happened. I wouldn't be surprised if he blames the Chitauri for the failed attack on New York . He twists his own mistakes, to use them as a shield and a weapon at the same time."

"No kidding, he was a terrible leader." Tony said, shaking his head. "I mean, the glowstick of Destiny was his trumf card, the ultimate fallback. And he left it right here, in my tower, for Natasha, to pick up..." Tony's voice trailed off, a odd look settling on his face.

"Oh my _god_!" Tony shot out of his chair, diving for Thor, grabbing his arm and staring him straight in the eyes. "Quick, how many Infinity Stones did you say there are?"

"Six." Thor replied, and Tony let go of him and started pacing while he pulled his hair, groaning and having seemingly forgotten the others.  
>"There are six stones. Why?" repeated Thor, causing Tony to stop up.<p>

"One, the Tesseract, controls Space. Second, Reality. Third, Power.. what can the others do?" asked Tony, his voice urgent.

Thor looked unsure. "I'm not certain, it has been a long time since I was told anything about them.."

"Think, Thor!" Tony urged, his face desperate. "We only need three. You must remember!"

Thor fell silent, concentrating. "I believe.." he began slowly, "that the remaining three are Time..I think one was named Soul, which leaves the last.. Mind? Yes, Mind. The last three are Time, Soul and Mind."

Tony fell back into his chair, face in his hands, swearing.

"Talk to us Tony, what is it you've discovered?" asked Steve, a little annoyed and unsettle by the other mans antics. Tony let his hands fall down.

"Seriously guys? Mind! There is a Infinity Stone, that controls the _mind_. Doesn't that ring a bell for any of you?"

On que, they all looked at Clint who stared at Tony, mouth gaping. "Are you saying, that Loki's scepter is powered by an Infinity Stone?!" he asked, voice incredulous. "Was that how he controlled me?! The bastard used an Infinity Stone on me?"

"Positive. These stones represents the most fundamental parts of the Universe. I don't think you can just duplicate the ability to control others. It's an uniqe ability, just like traveling through space as the Tesseract. Thor, you told us this."

"So - " Natasha summarised, folding her hands in front of her. "- Loki had the Mind Gem. Where did he find it? As I understand, the stones are guarded, right Thor? You can't just pick it up when you are out walking.. Thor?"

They all looked at Thor, who had gone deadly pale. "By the Norns.." he whispered.

* * *

><p><em>You guys, thank you so much for your lovely reviews! They do inspire me, so keep them coming!<em>

_On other words, have you seen the Age of Ultron trailer? Daaamn. April 23, come to me! It's absolutely amazing - I get back home to Denmark after a two weeks roadtrip in Iceland JUST in time for the premiere. Talk about luck.  
><em>

_Cognitive recalibration, you all remember that one right? Just hit 'em hard in the head.  
><em>


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